Loyalhanna Township couple charged with operating meth lab
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Apr. 7—State police arrested a Loyalhanna Township couple early Wednesday after shutting down what they called a methamphetamine lab at the couple's home in rural Westmoreland County.
Brian Miller, 51, and Jennifer Lynn Williams, 53, are charged with operating a methamphetamine lab, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawfully storing chemical waste and knowingly possessing ingredients to manufacture methamphetamine.
The couple was ordered held in the Westmoreland County Prison after failing to post $100,000 bond each.
Trooper Joseph Lauricia reported in court documents that he received information late Tuesday from an informant that Miller and Williams were operating a methamphetamine laboratory out of their residence on the 600 block of Loyalhanna Dam Road, less than two miles south of Saltsburg in Indiana County.
Lauricia obtained a search warrant and summoned the specially equipped state police Clandestine Laboratory Response Team to assist in the search Wednesday morning.
According to police reports, Miller and Williams were the only people inside the home when the warrant was served and multiple chemicals were seized.
"The items collected were consistent with items used for manufacturing methamphetamine via the red phosphorus method," Lauricia wrote in court documents.
The items will be analyzed at the state police lab in Greensburg, he said.
In 2016, Miller pleaded guilty in Allegheny County to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to serve six months probation, according to online court dockets. In 2014, Miller was admitted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program for first-time, nonviolent offenders in Westmoreland County after his arrest by state police for forging vehicle documents, according to court documents.
On Dec. 30, Williams pleaded guilty in Westmoreland to her third driving under the influence charge after her arrest by state police in Kiski. She was sentenced to one year of home electronic monitoring followed by one year of probation.
A preliminary hearing on the new charges is April 19.
Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter .
