Man Who Tried To Make Meth In Walmart Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison

The man to two years in prison.

James Richardson, 37, of Perry, pleaded guilty to the illegal assembly of chemicals for the manufacture of meth Thursday in Lake County Court of Common Pleas.

Then Judge Eugene Lucci immediately sentenced him to prison for two years.

Richardson did not have much to say during the hearing. When given the chance to speak, he apologized and said he did what he did "because of the drugs."

Richardson was arrested on June 17. He was arrested for stealing the ingredients to make methamphetamine from a and trying to make it in the store.

He put drain cleaner, camp fuel and Lime Out stain remover in his shopping cart, all of which are used in the production of meth, police said.

Then Richardson grabbed a salt shaker and poured some of each of the products he had taken into it. Then he began shaking it, police said.

Authorities call this the shake-and-bake or one-pot method, which involves combining the ingredients in a single sealed container and shaking it to increase the pressure.

A security guard spotted Richardson and called police, who soon arrested him.

Richardson has two previous felony drug arrests -- drug possession in 2007 in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and aggravated drug possession in 2011 in Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas.