VALDOSTA —
A methamphetamine lab was discovered shortly after midnight Sunday when officers from the Echols County Sheriff’s Office and the South Ga. Drug Task Force followed up on a tip and executed a search warrant at a residence in the 1400 block of Echols County’s Sardis Church Road.
The early morning search turned up both methamphetamine and items commonly used in the manufacture of the controlled substance, said information from the Echols County Sheriff’s Office. The occupant of the residence, Justin Cole Sandlin, was taken into custody.
Officers stated that they also discovered more methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in a camper behind the residence. The camper’s occupant, Anthony Scott Fountain, wasn’t present during the search but, according to reports, he was later found and arrested at a residence in Lake Park.
The raid on the Sardis Church Road residence was the fifth drug related incident at the location in recent months, according to Echols County Sheriff Randy Courson.
Sandlin was out of jail on several bonds and awaiting trial on other charges, according to Courson, when he was taken into custody Sunday night.
Sandlin was arrested and charged with felony criminal intent to manufacture methamphetamine, felony possession of methamphetamine, and felony possession of tools during the commission of a crime, said the sheriff.
Fountain was arrested and charged with felony criminal attempt to manufacture methamphetamine and felony possession of methamphetamine, according to Courson.
Both men were transported to the Lowndes County Jail.
In February of this year, at the same residence, the sheriff’s department arrested Sandlin’s brother, Joseph, and Kenneth Keen, charging them with felony manufacturing of meth and felony possession. According to Courson, the sheriff’s office is responding to calls from concerned citizens in the area.
Anyone with any information regarding illegal activity is encouraged to call the Echols County Sheriff’s Office at 229-559-5603. You may remain anonymous.
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