By Vicky Wedig
Staff writer
An Elkhorn man was scheduled to be sentenced May 4 for manufacturing methamphetamine.
Bryan N. Tidwell, 32, was charged Oct. 27 with manufacturing meth, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of waste from meth manufacturing. He pleaded guilty March 9 to manufacturing meth, and the charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of meth waste against him were dismissed.
According to the criminal complaint, police searched Tidwell’s Elkhorn apartment on Oct. 13 and found a canister of salt, coffee filters and a red bottle wrapped in plastic that appeared to contain lye – all items used to manufacture meth.
Because of the evidence of a meth lab inside the apartment, police ordered everyone out based on concerns of fire and explosion. The Drug Enforcement Agency’s clandestine lab team donned Tyvek suits to examine the apartment and found significant fire damage under a bed believed to be caused by a meth cook that went badly, according to the complaint.
Other items related to meth production were also found including a plastic bottle with a grayish, sand-like substance and a tube coming out the top and a gas generator for meth production, according to the complaint.
Tidwell admitted knowing how to cook meth and said he tried to keep his daughter from being exposed to the chemicals from meth production, according to the complaint. In all, police found 7.39 grams of meth, .24 grams of marijuana, six pills of Zanaflex, an antidepressant, and another unidentified pill in the apartment, according to the complaint.
