Three people were arrested after Santa Rosa County sheriff’s deputies discovered a meth lab in a mobile home off U.S. Highway 98 late Thursday afternoon. Two people arrived at the home at 5361 Stagecoach Trail about 3:30 p.m. while deputies were searching it and tried to speed away, said Mark Ward, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. They raced down the road in reverse, crossed East Bay Boulevard, and flipped over and landed in a ditch, Ward said. The Sheriff's Office had received a tip that the home was being used as a meth lab, Ward said. When deputies arrived to check out the tip, Rene McCartney, 46, gave them permission to search only outside the home, Ward said. They had found some drug paraphernalia outside when Jeremy Rufus Miller, 38, and Haley Dowden pulled up, spotted the deputies and tried to flee. Both were taken into custody, Ward said. During a search inside the home, deputies found a large amount of methamphetamine and chemicals and paraphernalia used to produce the drug. “They said on a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 10,” Ward said as he watched deputies in protective suits and masks bring out the hazardous materials about 8 p.m. “They’re going to be here all night long,” he said. McCartney, Miller and Dowden were taken into custody for drug possession, but Ward did not know their exact charges. All three remain lodged in the Santa Rosa County Jail. McCartney and Dowden's bonds are set at $15,000, while Miller's bond is set at $16,000.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Meth lab uncovered in Navarre