On September 5th a routine stop for a seatbelt violation led to the arrest of two local men by Arkansas State Trooper Roark.
Arrested were Eddie Lester and Chris Broadway both of Imboden. The arrest came after the officer stopped the vehicle the men were in, while speaking to the subjects the Trooper noticed a strong chemical odor in the vehicle. A black duffel bag was in back of the vehicle and the subjects were asked about the odor, the subjects replied there was a meth lab in the back seat in the duffel bag.
Trooper Roark called for lab certified officers from the Lawrence County Sherrif’s Office to process the meth lab. Deputies processed the lab for evidence and Eddie Lester and Chris Broadway were placed under arrest and transported to the Lawrence County Jail to await a Bond hearing. Both men were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture meth, possession of pseudo ephedrine with intent to manufacture meth and conspiracy to manufacture meth. Deputies found camp fuel, pseudo ephedrine pills, lithium batteries, plastic tubing, drain cleaner and reaction vessels in the duffel bag. The subjects stated to officers that they were enroute to “cook” off some meth.
In a Bond hearing Tuesday Eddie Lester and Chris Broadway both had Bond set at $10,000.00 and Circuit Court dates of October 12th were issued.