Two Accused of Operating Meth Lab Near West Columbia

Officers arrested two men accused of operating a meth lab at a home near West Columbia.

Roger Allan Lee Jr., 34, of Gaston, and Charles Richard Richter, 32, of Wadmalaw, are charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies, who were acting on a tip, went to an unoccupied home on Joye Street around 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday. 

When approaching the home, the deputies smelled a strong chemical odor that indicated that a meth lab was being operated at the home, according to a news release.

The Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team conducted a search of the home and found a one-liter plastic soda bottle on the front porch that was actively being used as a reaction vessel to manufacture methamphetamine, the Sheriff’s Department said. 

Lee and Richter are being held at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting bond hearings.

Lexington County deputies also arrested a couple Tuesday for allegedly operating a mobile meth lab in their car near Gaston.