by Matt Harvey

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR

CLARKSBURG -- A Ritchie County man has waived his preliminary hearing on a methamphetamine-related charge, a prosecutor said.

Charles Arden Ross, 43, of Harrisville, on Friday chose to forego the hearing before Harrison County Magistrate Keith Marple, said Assistant Prosecutor Jerry Blair.

Ross is accused of operating or attempting to operate a clandestine drug laboratory. He is accused of possessing laboratory equipment and different chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, Blair said.

The investigation began Jan. 8 after marijuana was left in one of the rooms at a Clarksburg motel and found by the housekeeping staff, Blair said. The investigation culminated later in the day when the alleged chemicals and lab equipment, as well as a gun concealed in a pillow, were found during a traffic stop on U.S. 50, Blair said.

The Ross case is one of three methamphetamine-related cases now under prosecution in Harrison County, Prosecutor Joe Shaffer said.

The prosecutor urged the public to be on the lookout for signs of manufacture of the dangerous drug.

A public meeting designed to educate residents about the potential problem will be held later this spring, Shaffer said. The date has yet to be set.

Members of Shaffer's office, area police agencies and the Harrison/Lewis Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force will offer information, Shaffer said. Also, authorities from Wood County -- where the problem appears to be more pronounced -- will be invited to share expertise at the meeting, Shaffer said.

"We want to tell residents what the drug is, various ways it's made, some of the apparatus that's used. And, we want to get a warning out to the people who are doing this that we're not going to tolerate it," Shaffer said.

Methamphetamine can be produced by mixing common items like cold medicine and battery acid, Shaffer said.

He urged residents -- including workers at pharmacies and grocery stores -- to report unusually large purchases of those items.

A state law enacted last June makes it possible to prosecute those who have inordinate amounts of those materials on hand, Shaffer said.

"It would be normal to see someone come into a store and pick up a couple of batteries and a bottle of cold medicine," he said. "It wouldn't be normal for someone to come into a store and pick up 50 lithium batteries, 30 boxes of cold medicine and rubber tubing."

Methamphetamine is highly addictive and production of it is extremely dangerous, Shaffer said.

Yet it's cooked everywhere from abandoned houses and trailers to hotel rooms and vans -- "anywhere they can set up a clandestine lab, they will," Shaffer said.

"If it's been cooked in a house, the house has to be stripped to a shell before it can be used again because the residue is so carcinogenic," Shaffer said. "And there's a great risk of explosion because of the cooking process.

"If there's a fairly sophisticated methamphetamine lab in a hotel room and something goes wrong, it could literally blow out four or five rooms of the hotel," Shaffer said.

Those with tips on possible methamphetamine manufacturing activity can contact Shaffer's office at 624-8660. Or, the drug task force can be contacted through the following area agencies: Bridgeport Police (842-8260), Clarksburg Police (624-1610), Harrison County Sheriff (623-6655), Lewis County Sheriff (269-8245) or the U.S. Attorney's Office (623-7030).