Madras neighbors in shock after meth lab discovered

Residents living in the Ponderosa Drive neighborhood of Madras said Friday they still can’t believe a meth lab was brewing so close to their homes.

Police arrested Jeremiah Leach, 24, after they found a half-ounce of methamphetamine on him during a domestic violence call on Wednesday.

Investigators served a search warrant Thursday at a home on the 500 block of SE Ponderosa Drive. Police said other people were living in the home where the meth lab was found.

Neighbor Beverly Hurley, who has lived in the neighborhood for several years, said the news was alarming as there is a school nearby.

“If that meth lab in the house had blown up, you have all those school kids that are not far away, and you have the little one in the house — and this so dangerous,” Hurley said.

The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team was called in to help with the chemicals and wore haz-mat suits to avoid exposure.

Investigators say meth labs in Central Oregon have decreased over the years since a ban on the over-the-counter sales of medicine with pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used to make the drug.

Currently, no one is allowed to live in the home until the cleanup is done.

“We’ll just keep a close eye on the community, and if we see a lot of people going back and forth out of a house, that might raise an alarm that we talk to somebody,” Hurley said.

Leach faces several drug charges and is scheduled for arraignment next Thursday.