Duane H. Maurer has admitted he operated a methamphetamine laboratory in his former Butler Township residence and will go to state prison because of it.
Maurer, 51, of Ringtown, pleaded guilty Friday in Schuylkill County Court to four counts of possession of chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance and one each of manufacture of a controlled substance, risking a catastrophe and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin accepted Maurer's plea, and, pursuant to an agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, sentenced him to serve 27 to 54 months in a state correctional institution.
Dolbin also sentenced Maurer to pay costs, $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and $2,241 restitution, and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.
Butler Township police alleged Maurer and Deborah A. Reedy, 59, of Pottsville, operated a meth lab on June 10, 2013, at their home at 406 Catherine St., Fountain Springs.
Police said they entered the home after neighbors reported an unusual odor coming from it. Once inside, police said, they called firefighters, who detected a high concentration of an ammonia-based odor.
Firefighters found what they believed to be the source of the odor on the basement steps of that home where a 16-ounce plastic bottle with tubes fixed to the lid and a glass jar containing a milky, oily white substance were found, according to police.
Police said they contacted the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force and the state police Clandestine Laboratory Response Team for assistance.
A county detective found the items discovered by fire personnel on the basement steps, plus a can of starting fluid in the living room, lithium batteries that were pulled apart, three plastic bottles filled with a white substance, a bottle of liquid fire with a tube sticking out of the top and a soap dish with a white substance on it, police said.Defendant: Duane H. Maurer
Age: 51
Residence: Ringtown
Crimes committed: Four counts of possession of chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance and one each of manufacture of a controlled substance, risking a catastrophe and possession of drug paraphernalia
Prison sentence: 27 to 54 months in a state correctional institution