Police raid Lisbon home

Two people were arrested on unrelated charges following a Thursday morning raid on a suspected meth lab at 40172 state Route 154.

Taken into custody on outstanding arrest warrants out of Columbiana County were Ronald Lacey, 39, and Courtney Wilson, 24, both of whom were found at home when the residence was raided about 8:30 a.m. by agents from the county Drug Task Force and Lisbon police.

Lacey was later charged with manufacturing drugs, and additional charges are expected to be filed.

Also present was a 10-year-old boy, who is the son of a man who lives there but was at work at the time. His son was taken to a hospital to be examined for possible exposure to chemicals used to manufacture meth before being released to a relative.

Lisbon Police Chief Mike Abraham said they found a single "cook pot" of meth in the basement. A pot is the container, usually a soda pop liter bottle, used to "cook" the chemicals to produce meth.

In addition to the cook pot, Abraham said they also found "all the apparatuses and chemicals" used to create meth. Investigators also found burnt lithium batteries in a burn pile outside the residence. Lithium batteries are a common ingredient in manufacturing meth.

After everyone was removed from the home, DTF agents donned protective gear to begin the process of safely removing the meth and chemicals. They were assisted by the Lisbon Fire Department.

Abraham said the search warrant they obtained to conduct the raid was the result of a three-month investigation by the DTF and Lisbon police. This is the fourth meth lab bust in the village since January 2014.

"What it tells you is it's everywhere," he said of the meth problem, "and what it also tells is the guy we have on the DTF from Lisbon is on top of it."

Abraham was referring to the village police officer assigned full-time to the DTF. "My agent is doing a great job of sniffing out this stuff and then it's gone," he said.