By Jordan Missal
An early morning traffic stop turned into a drug bust near Central Elementary School in Lexington on April 2.
With the help of his K-9 partner, Blix, Rockbridge County K-9 Deputy Troy Wimer discovered what deputies called a mobile meth lab in the back of a car he had just pulled over for having tinted windows.
The “lab” was in two bags that contained materials necessary for making methamphetamine, deputies said. One bag had a pot of chemicals; the other contained camping fuel oil.
“The meth lab was in the back floorboard, the back passenger’s seat, in a book bag between the passenger’s legs,” Wimer said.
Deputies arrested four people: Ashleigh Shendock, 19; Jeremy Miller, 35; Joseph Carl Bryant, 33, and Kristen Nuckols, 21.
Shendock, Miller, and Bryant were charged with manufacturing methamphetamine. Nuckols, who deputies said was driving, was not charged with manufacturing methamphetamine. She was charged with possession of a Schedule I/II controlled substance.
Shendock, Miller and Bryant were also charged with manufacturing meth within 1,000 feet of a school. Only Nuckols has posted bond, according to Rockbridge Regional Jail records.
Wimer said he decided to have his dog, Blix, check out the car after noticing that all the occupants had suspended or revoked licenses.
Deputies said two of the car’s occupants, a man and a woman, tried to run away after deputies found the materials in the back seat. They would not name the two. The man was caught immediately, according to deputies, but the woman remained free for about an hour.
She was found in some bushes nearby after she grew cold and began shouting, deputies said.
Deputies said all of those taken into custody live in Augusta County.
Wimer said he also linked Nuckols and Miller to multiple thefts at the Walmart north of Lexington by watching surveillance videos on his car’s laptop after he stopped their car.
“The female even had the same shoes at the stop that she did in Walmart,” Wilmer said. Wimer said Nuckols admitted helping Miller steal from the store. Nuckols and Miller were charged with grand larceny.
Wimer said it was the first meth lab discovery in the county since October 2014. The October discovery was the result of an explosion at an Interstate 81 rest area. It killed the man suspected of making the drug.