Meth lab cooked

From a routine drug bust in Springhill to a full-blown methamphetamine lab in Magnolia, Arkansas, law enforcement agents accompanied a pair of meth cooks across state lines and put them out of business.

Veronica Elaine Larkin, 32, of West Monroe Street and Kenny Wayne (Ken) Whiddon, 39, of the 2900 block of Columbia 27 in Magnolia, were charged with creation of a clandestine meth lab after leading members of the North Webster Task Force to the site.

Lt. Shawn Baker of the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office said on Monday he, along with other agents, noticed a green Honda Accord driven by a third party and occupied by Larkin and Whiddon on U.S. Hwy. 371.

"We were familiar with these two and knew their involvement with methamphetamine," Baker said. "The vehicle pulled into a (pharmacy) parking lot, and Larkin went into the store and bought a box of pseudoephedrine."

Baker said the agents followed the group to different pharmacies, where they purchased more boxes of the drug which is used to manufacture methamphetamine. They also bought lithium batteries.

Baker, along with Det. Ronald Wedgeworth and Sgt. William Frazier, stopped the vehicle on Forest Street in Springhill.

"We searched the vehicle and found the over-the-counter drug and the batteries inside the vehicle," Baker said. "We brought them to the Springhill Police Department and interviewed them. They admitted they had a meth lab at their house in Magnolia."

Baker said the agents traveled to Magnolia where they joined the local police department, Columbia County Sheriff's Department and Arkansas State Police.

"We obtained a search warrant on the residence, and found a full-blown meth lab inside their bedroom," Baker said. "They had everything they needed – crates, coffee filters. Everyone in the house was arrested – who was currently there at that time."

Two of the individuals in the vehicle with Whiddon and Larkin were not arrested.

"The driver was from Arkansas, and she really didn't even know what she was involved in," Baker said. "And there was another person they were paying to go into some of the stores and buy the items. After talking to those two, we felt sure they didn't have a clue what they were involved in, so we let them go."

Baker said the investigation is ongoing and other arrests are pending.