LEWISTON, Maine — Police arrested two men accused of manufacturing methamphetamine in different locations using the “one pot” method, Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said Tuesday in a news release.
Raymond Nelson, 35, who also is known by the name Kent Lathrop, and Merlin Ellingwood, 32, both of Lewiston, are charged with felony unlawful operation of a methamphetamine laboratory, a Class B crime.
“[Maine Drug Enforcement Agency] Agents and Lewiston police had received information that the two men has been making meth at different locations throughout the Lewiston area,” McCausland said in the statement. “The renter of the apartment was not present at the time of the arrests. The investigation is ongoing, and additional arrests are expected.”
Agents from the MDEA Western District Task Force arrested the two Sunday at 197 Bartlett St. A search of the apartment found a suspected “one pot” meth lab and other items used to manufacture methamphetamine, McCausland said.
“Due to the extremely dangerous nature of methamphetamine manufacturing, members of the MDEA Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team were utilized to seize the evidence with the Maine State Department of Environmental Protection assisting at the scene to safely dispose of the items,” he said.
Nelson and Ellingwood were at the Androscoggin County Jail, a jail official said Tuesday morning. Nelson’s bail is $10,000 cash, and Ellingwood’s bail was set at $500 cash.