Newport News, Va. – Three people were arrested this week following what police say was the discovery of two meth labs in the same neighborhood.
Two of those people were arrested Tuesday night.
Michael Edward Adkins, 31, was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, and conspiracy to violate the VA Control Act.
Dana Estelle Chandonnet, 42, was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and conspiracy to violate the VA Control Act.
Newport News police say they found the second meth lab while investigating another in Newport News on Tuesday night.
The first one was located on Sunday on Middlesex Road over the weekend. The second investigation took place at the Hidenwood North Apartments as police conducted a followup to the Middlesex Road investigation. There is a possible connection between the two incidents. Neighbors tell NewsChannel 3 they were all friends.
A man, woman, and a 13-year-old boy were inside the apartment and detectives observed items inside the apartment which were consistent with the manufacturing of meth.
Detectives cleared the occupants out of the apartment and an additional seven apartments within the building were also evacuated.
The Newport News Police Hazmat Team, along with State and Federal agencies responded to the scene.
While officers were investigating, a vehicle connected to the apartment pulled in. The people inside saw the officers and drove off.
According to police, Chandonnet, Adkins, another person and Chandonnet’s 4-year-old were in the car.
Officials had information about the vehicle and made a stop at Oyster Point and Nettles.
According to a criminal complaint filed in court, officers saw Chandonnet get out of car from the passengers side and got into the driver’s seat, while Adkins jumped into the back seat. The criminal complaint says when officers stopped them, they found a syringe in Adkins’ pocket, syringes in the glove department and a bag full of a white substance, which later tested positive for meth.
The criminal complaint says Adkins admitted to police that he was making meth back at the Hidenwood Apartment and would give it to people. He also told police that Chandonnet was the one who bought the over the counter medicine, which has the ingredients used for meth making.
According to Chandonnet’s criminal complaint, officers found 7 ounces (196 grams) of meth in a bedroom closet inside the apartment.
Chandonnet is the mother of the 13-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl, according to police.
The teen and the 4-year-old child are the children of one of the women in the car and are now in the care of a family friend.
