Three people are in jail on meth manufacturing charges after city and county narcotics officers busted an alleged small-scale lab at Fairview late last week.

Responding Thursday to complaints from residents in the area, the Cullman Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) went to a mobile home on County Road 1518, just north of Fairview. After getting consent from its occupant, Roger Dale Hall, to search the dwelling, they arrested Hall and two others after allegedly discovering both used and active ‘shake-and-bake’ methamphetamine labs and an undisclosed quantity of the finished product.

Hall, 62, along with 23 year-old Kristy Houston Glasscock of Cullman and 21 year-old Justin Blake Higginbotham of Oneonta, was charged with a single count of second-degree unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance. They remain in the Cullman County detention center on separate, mandatory $1 million bonds.

Sheriff Mike Rainey said the bust, like many others, stemmed from tips the CNET team received from those who live nearby.

“We’ve received numerous complaints and tips from neighbors about illegal activity going on at this residence,” said Rainey. “We have attempted to cultivate evidence in the past that would lead to an arrest, but the occupant at this particular residence has been hard to catch in terms of leaving nothing behind that would incriminate him.

“This time, CNET got the call and, when they approached the home, were given consent by the occupant to search the premises inside the mobile home. They found two ‘spent’ labs; the remnants of two different used-up containers used to make meth. In another room of the dwelling, they actually found all the ingredients, and an active meth lab along with an amount of finished meth.”

Rainey said the case is still being investigated, and additional charges could follow. He thanked the CNET team, calling the bust a “good joint effort between the city and the county.”

“Just as with a lot of these types of busts, it’s important to thank the community for communicating this activity to police, and for being patient as narcotics officers followed up,” he said. “When you can respond in a productive way to these type of complaints, and remove people who are involved in illegal activity from the communities that are being harmed by it, that’s a good thing.”

* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.