A meth lab was busted at a Local address, 13 Washington Avenue, after it was raided on Jan. 27.
Photo courtesy of Cody Castro
S.L. FULLER
Staff Writer
The morning of Monday, Jan. 27 was out of an episode of “Breaking Bad.”
“The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) probably had eight people and the [Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force] had about four,” recalled Chief of Fredonia Police, Brad Meyers, about the day 13 Washington Avenue got raided. “It was pretty quiet. The weather was not good, and it was cold, and kids were in school,” he continued.
Meyers said that the meth lab bust was planned this way.
The raid on the house in the Village of Fredonia occurred after another meth lab bust that happened only 10 days before in the nearby Town of Pomfret. According to Meyers, “Information was received in the course of doing that investigation that led officers to believe that perhaps crystal meth was being produced at 13 Washington Avenue.”
After receiving more credible information that turned out to be correct, a search warrant was obtained for the house. Upon the raid, they arrested Jessica C. Fulmer, but she was not arrested on drug charges.
“The individual that was arrested was actually arrested on warrants that were out for her here, in Cheektowaga and in Hamburg on larcenies,” Meyers said.
He went on to say that the district attorney’s office, the DEA and the US Attorney General’s office are currently “having conversations to determine if charges can be placed based on the fact that the house was no longer being used for the production of meth.”
Chautauqua County Sheriff Joseph Gerace said the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force (STRDTF) was brought into the investigation to assist with coordinating the case, recovery and search. “This is an active investigation,” he said, “and could go on for several months depending on how complicated the case is.”
But 13 Washington Avenue was not the big meth lab that first pops into everyone’s mind. “What you see today are commonly referred to as a ‘shake and bake’ operation or a ‘single pot’ operation where everything is produced in a single container,” Meyers said. “Just enough is manufactured to consume.”
Gerace refers to these as “quick cook set ups” that are not sophisticated and are made up of materials like one-liter pop bottles.
But much like “Breaking Bad,” Meyers said the production of crystal meth and other hard drugs is a trend that has been going on for more than a decade.
“Our biggest case was in 2011. It was an international heroin ring which had ties to several states,” he said. “The main player was located in Chautauqua County and was moving about a kilo of heroin a day.”
Sophomore computer science and information systems dual major Samuel Simpson said that a meth lab bust happened this past January in his hometown of Allegany. Allegany is located in Cattaraugus County which neighbors Chautauqua County.
The meth lab busts in Simpson’s hometown and in the town where he goes to school have changed some of his perceptions.
“The quality of life and the quality of people aren’t what I thought they were,” said Simpson.
Both Gerace and Meyers encourage the community to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.
“A drug house is a drug house is a drug house,” said Meyers. “If you see a lot of traffic coming and going from a location, individuals are staying 3-5 minutes, you know the people who are coming and going are not from the neighborhood, they’re strangers, you know you’re dealing with a drug house.”
Gerace mentioned how this community is reliable. Meyers’s statements concurred.
“We have a really good community involvement,” Meyers said. “People really don’t want to see Fredonia change. They really want to keep it a safe, family-friendly place, and they really do contact us and we do resolve a lot of crimes as a byproduct of that cooperation.”