Crash in Van Buren County leads to meth lab investigation
On January 3 at around 4:30 pm., deputies with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to an unknown crash in the 27000 block of 6th Ave. in Pine Grove Township.
When deputies arrived on scene, they found a white Altima that had struck a tree with no one was inside the car.
The car was discovered to have been stolen out of Kalamazoo.
Investigators observed footprints leading to a nearby residence and upon following the tracks, deputies noticed a strong chemical odor coming from near the residence’s garage.
Deputies located a suspicious bag recently placed against the garage and discovered an active one-pot meth lab inside.
The Van Buren County narcotics unit was then dispatched for assistance on the investigation.
Detectives conducted an interview at the house where the meth lab was found and were able to identify three suspects involved in the crash with the stolen vehicle.
Detectives then set out to look for the suspects and found two of them at a nearby gas station.
When detectives approached the 31-year-old and 22-year-old men, both from Gobles, the two refused to exit the vehicle for several minutes.
The driver eventually unlocked the vehicle and the passenger became aggressive and began to fight with detectives.
After a brief struggle, the passenger was taken in custody.
A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a baggie of meth and open containers the passenger had been drinking in plain sight.
Both men were lodged for the following charges:
- Possession of methamphetamine
- Resisting officers
An investigation into the meth lab will be submitted once this investigation is complete.
The Michigan State Police SWET assisted in disposing of the meth lab.
Detectives are still trying to locate the 25-year-old female from Schoolcraft who was also involved in the incident.