LEBANON - When police raided a rundown Harlan Township farmhouse on Ohio 28 last June and arrested three people, they said they had discovered Warren County's first methamphetamine lab.

        But a judge on Thursday decided authorities had jumped to conclusions.

        Saying there wasn't enough evidence to prove the allegation, Judge Neal Bronson, of Warren County Court Common Pleas Court, dismissed a felony charge of illegal manufacture of drugs against Joseph Lester Wiggins as the 35-year-old man went on trial in connection with the raid.

        Mr. Wiggins, who was found sleeping in a trailer on the property rented by Lori and Phillip McMullen, still faces charges of preparing marijuana for sale, illegal use of drug paraphernalia, unlawful possession of dangerous ordnances (for two sawed-off shotguns) and aggravated possession of drugs.

        A jury is expected to return a verdict today on those charges, which could send Mr. Wiggins to prison for up to 10 years.

        Mr. Wiggins' lawyer, Shawn Stiver, had asked Judge Bronson to dismiss all or some of the charges after the prosecution rested its case Thursday.
       

Merely a visitor

        Mr. Stiver told a jury that his client was a visitor at the McMullens' property at 9754 Ohio 28 when more than 50 officers staged the surprise late-afternoon search.

        “The property was a party house, a crank house. There were many people in and out on a daily basis and many would spend the night,” Mr. Stivers said, noting that five other adults were present during the June 29 raid and that the marijuana, methamphetamines and guns could have belonged to any of them.
       

Trades described
        However, Assistant Prosecutor Keith Anderson said police found a “cache” of guns including two illegal sawed-off shotguns, more than 26 grams of the stimulant methamphetamine and six baggies of marijuana in the trailer. Mr. Wiggins told investigators that he provided large quantities of over-the-counter cold medicine to Mr. McMullen, who would cook it down, Mr. Anderson said.

        Mr. Wiggins also admitted that he would then trade that substance to a Clermont County man, who would finish the process and give him seven grams of methamphetamine in return.

        “He said he would sell some and would pay rent to Phillip McMullen for living in the trailer,” Mr. Anderson said.

        The McMullens face similar charges and will go on trial in coming weeks. They also face child endangering charges because two of their children were present when drugs allegedly were being manufactured and sold.

        Officials with the Warren County Drug Task Force said officers found 57 loaded guns in the trailer, about a pound of marijuana, $4,000 in cash and 33 grams of methamphetamine.

        Hundreds of empty bottles of an over-the-counter sinus medication, beakers, hot plates and other cooking equipment also were confiscated, according to court documents.

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