Officers say they discovered meth lab

By Tony Gordon
Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
Posted Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Lake County officials say they averted a potential disaster when they shut down a methamphetamine laboratory in a Libertyville townhouse.

Scott Erb, 38, was arrested Saturday when agents of the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group caught him dumping waste products from the production of the drug in a garbage container on Red Top Drive.

The following day, police in hazardous material suits entered Erb’s residence at 810 Braeman Court and found more than a pound of liquid methamphetamine well-along in the manufacturing process, and materials to make much more, officials said.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Shanes said it is the largest, most active source of methamphetamine ever discovered in Lake County.

What was of particular concern to officials was its location.

The drug’s production process involves use of extremely volatile chemicals, including ephedrine and phosphorous, and explosions are not uncommon, Shanes said. It is usually produced in rural areas away from population centers, in part, because of the dangers involved.

“One of the most serious concerns we have is the safety of the immediate neighbors to these types of operations,” he said. “While dangerous enough in rural areas, the frightening aspect of this lab was that it was in a townhouse complex, where neighbors share common walls.”

It was the volatility of the chemicals involved that brought police attention to Erb, Shanes said.

The refuse company that collects the garbage from the container Erb was dumping the waste in reported small fires in their trucks during the compacting process, Shanes said.

Chemical experts from the state police Methamphetamine Response Team tested the material and determined methamphetamine waste was the likely cause of the ignitions, Shanes said.

MEG agents and Libertyville police kept the dumpster under surveillance and arrested Erb around 10:30 a.m. Saturday when he drove up and threw a bag of garbage into the container.

Police said the bag contained chemicals and other by-products of the drug manufacturing process. Police also found two pipes for smoking the drug inside Erb’s car.

The pound of methamphetamine found inside Erb’s townhouse has a street value of up to $50,000, Shanes said.

Police also found multiple boxes of cold medicine, from which ephedrine is extracted, and more than 500 matchbooks missing the striker plate. Striker plates are commonly used as a source of phosphorous, Shanes said.

A 40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol was found in the townhouse, which Shanes said will increase the penalties Erb faces on the drug charges.

Erb is held on $800,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

He is charged with aggravated possession of a controlled substance, participation in methamphetamine production, possession of methamphetamine precursors and unlawful disposal of methamphetamine waste.

Shanes said Erb faces up to 60 years in prison.