Meth lab busted near Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Sheriff's Office discovered a methamphetamine lab on Road 5 Northeast near Moses Lake this morning.

"They found it was an active meth lab," Chief Criminal Deputy John Turley said. "There were young children there."

The sheriff's deputies conducted a "knock and talk" after citizens notified there was a lot of activity in the area at about 2 a.m. this morning, he said.

Deputies arriving on the scene smelled an active methamphetamine lab. An active lab often smells like cat urine, according to Turley.

Four people were located inside a travel trailer at the location, a man and a woman and two children. There is another house located near the trailer. It is unclear which location the people lived in.

Ricky D. Walker Jr., 27 and Gina K. Thorne, 27, were each arrested for manufacturing methamphetamine.

Further charges are pending, Sgt. Dan Couture said.

Two children, a 6 year-old-boy and 3-year-old, were turned over to Child Protective Services, Couture said.

The children do not belong to either Walker or Thorne. An investigation was launched to locate the parents, he added. The parents of the removed children resided at the location on and off and at any given time there were two to 10 people who lived there, he said.

Due to the close vicinity to the drug operation, they will sustain a health evaluation, he said. Any health problems the children may have endured may not show up immediately.

Several household chemicals and items were confiscated from the location as part of the methamphertamine cooking operation, including hydrochloric acid, car cleaner and coffee filters.

There were enough supplies to produce about 1.5 ounces of methamphetamine, worth roughly $900, Couture said.

Previous to today's arrest, Walker has an extensive criminal history including possession of drug paraphernalia, theft and burglary charges, Turley said.

The "meth lab" location is a well-known area for criminal activity.

Several years ago, the spot was known as the Royal Rooster, he said. Several shootouts took place in the area before a large portion of it burned down.

"It has a lengthy history," he added.

A few days before the bust, Grant County Fire District No. 5 was called out to the residence to extinguish a garbage fire, Couture said. People who lived there threw their trash outside the house into the back yard and lit it on fire regularly. Several hundred pounds of burned garbage sits outside the house.

The Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET) and the Clandestine Laboratory Team assisted with the investigation.

The lab incident remains under investigation.