One South Carolina man was recently arrested, and authorities are looking for a second resident of a home at which a search warrant was recently executed. Both men are said to have been convicted on drug charges before. The house search was carried out while drug enforcement officers went searching for the second man in connection with an outstanding arrest warrant.
The York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit reportedly arrived at the residence with a search warrant and found only the 24-year-old Rock Hill man present with no sign of the other man for whom they were searching. During the search, authorities say they discovered marijuana, methamphetamine and a meth lab. After seizing the drugs, a HazMat team was called to handle the disposal of it.
The man found at the residence is now facing charges of second-degree trafficking and manufacturing of methamphetamine. He is being held in a detention center on a bond of $55,000. Similar charges are pending for the other man who remains at large.
The most appropriate steps for the arrested South Carolina man to take will likely be to retain the services of a criminal defense attorney with extensive experience in handling drug charges. A skilled lawyer can start by conducting an in-depth analysis of the surrounding circumstances related to the arrest before working on a defense strategy. Matters that will be scrutinized include whether officers had probable cause or a legal warrant to search the residence, whether Miranda rights were read at the time of the arrest and more.
Source: heraldonline.com, “HazMat called after meth lab found in Rock Hill, 1 arrested“, David Thackham, July 22, 2016