7 Arrested After Meth Lab & Child Found In Oak Hill Trailer

Oak Hill, FL – 7 people are behind bars for making methamphetamine in front of a 9-year-old child.

The Florida Department of Children & Families says that child is now in the hands of a relative after the East Volusia Narcotics Task Force dismantled a meth lab Friday afternoon at 1125 Maytown Road in Oak Hill.

The East Volusia Narcotics Task Force is a group of narcotics agents from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the Holly Hill, New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach and South Daytona police departments.

VCSO spokesman Gary Davidson says an investigation into possible drug activity at that residence led investigators to knock on the front door of that trailer home on Friday.

“Despite hearing voices inside the trailer, it took the occupants a suspiciously long time to open the door,” Davidson noted. “As soon as they did, agents immediately got a strong whiff of a highly-recognizable chemical odor. Based on their experience, the agents immediately suspected there was meth activity going on inside the trailer.”

Agents went in briefly after getting permission from the owner, but went right back out after spotting meth lab components because they felt they needed to get a search warrant from a judge before going any further, according to Davidson.

“They quickly spotted a plastic bottle in a bedroom with a hose coming out of it,” Davidson added. “On the bathroom floor, they also noticed a couple of one-pot meth labs consisting of plastic bottles that contained a white, sludge-like substance, lithium strips and a clear fluid.”

EVNTF agents went back into the home wearing chemical suits and air tanks after getting the warrant, finding around 109 grams of meth oil and over 8 grams of actual meth along with a fully-functioning lab and the materials needed to make meth.

Also found at the home, per Davidson, were 2 digital scales, drug ledgers, 2 loaded guns and ammunition as well as the 9-year-old child.

“One of the guns had been reported stolen to the New Smyrna Beach Police Department following a vehicle break-in last year,” Davidson said.

5 men and 2 women were arrested by EVNTF. 5 of the arrested are from Oak Hill and the others from Edgewater. Some of them live at the Maytown Road trailer home where the meth lab was found.

The names of the suspects, their charges and bond amounts are listed below. All have been booked at Volusia County Jail and remain in custody as of 2:15pm Saturday.

– 31-year-old Scott Brown of Oak Hill: Manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child and trafficking in methamphetamine. $100,000 bond.

– 33-year-old Amanda Zurwell of Oak Hill: Manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child, trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of a schedule II substance with intent to sell, possession of a schedule III substance with intent to sell and possession of narcotics paraphernalia. $121,000 bond.

– 44-year-old James Manns of Oak Hill: Manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child, armed trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of a schedule II substance with intent to sell, possession of a schedule III substance with intent to sell, grand theft of a firearm and possession of narcotics paraphernalia. $116,000 bond.

– 45-year-old Jason Melvin of Oak Hill: Manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child and trafficking in methamphetamine. $100,000 bond.

– 50-year-old Terry Law of Oak Hill: Manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child, trafficking in methamphetamine and child abuse. $110,000 bond.

– 52-year-old John Norris of Edgewater: Manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child and trafficking in methamphetamine. $100,000 bond.

– 62-year-old Vicki Rodgers-Stowe of Edgewater: Manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child and trafficking in methamphetamine. $100,000 bond.

All mugshots below are courtesy of VCJ.