BURGLARY INVESTIGATION LEADS TO METH LAB

Around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, members of the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office conducted a routine traffic stop in the 23700 block of US 59 in Porter that led to a three-county multi-agency investigation and nine arrests with more possible. The driver was 45-year-old Olon Miller, who was accompanied by 33-year-old Melanie Osburn; 38-year-old Stephanie Mead; and 22-year-old Michael Stanley O’Neal.

Miller immediately informed the deputies he did not have a valid driver’s license. A check of the passengers’ identifications through dispatch revealed Mead and O’Neal had active out of county warrants and Miller and Mead were convicted felons. Deputies requested and were granted consent to search the vehicle by its owner, Melanie Osburn. The search revealed two glass smoking pipe containing methamphetamine residue (one beneath Mead’s seat and one in Osburn’s purse); a metal framed BB handgun; empty syringes; a scale typical of those associated with the sale of illegal drugs; and four rifles wrapped in a blanket.

During questioning, it was learned the rifles were stolen from a residence in the Huffman area of Harris County and taken to Cleveland with the intent of later selling them in East Montgomery County. Precinct 4 Deputies then contacted the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, who sent a detective to assist in the investigation. The investigation produced information that a stolen shotgun was at a residence on Live Oak Street in New Caney. A Precinct 4 Deputy went to that location and did not locate the shotgun, but made contact with Whitney Calloway, who he arrested after dispatch confirmed she had an active warrant and was found to be in possession of methamphetamine.

After contacting the burglary victim and continuing to question the suspects, investigators learned a laptop computer was also stolen from the Huffman location, and was at the Cleveland residence where the rifles were initially taken. That was a home where suspects Osburn and Miller said they lived.

Precinct 4 Deputies contacted the Cleveland Police Department, whose officers then became part of the investigation. Members of both agencies and suspects Osburn and Miller went to the previously mentioned residence, located at 106 Taft Avenue in Cleveland.

Having consent of two of the residents/suspects to search the residence, four occupants were detained while a search was conducted. The laptop was recovered and officers noticed a strong chemical odor that turned out to be an active methamphetamine lab set up in one of the home’s bedrooms.

Cleveland Police then arrested the four people who were on location when the search was initiated. They were identified as Jimmy Martin, Sunshine Bush, Gary Bryant III, and Gerald Kamenicky.

The Texas Department of Public Safety Methamphetamine Initiative Group (MIG) responded to safely dismantle and remove the lab from the residence that is a recognized historical landmark At 106 Taft.  According to the placard, the home was built in 1915. It is located in the middle of the town near a busy intersection and shopping centers, in an area where children walk, play and ride bicycles.

Precinct 4 Constable Kenneth “Rowdy” Hayden, a lifelong resident of East Montgomery County said he was disturbed to find the methamphetamine being produced in such a populated area, as well as a historical home.

“It’s disgusting to think almost 100 years ago, some hard working, law abiding citizens built this home for their family, and today it’s a meth lab,” Constable Hayden said.

“On a more positive note, we appreciate the assistance and cooperation we received from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Cleveland Police Department,” Hayden said. “We made nine arrests, shut down a meth lab and an apparent burglary ring, which shows what can be accomplished when agencies work together.”

A tenth arrest is expected and additional charges are possible as the investigation continues.

Arrested in Montgomery County:

Michael Stanley O’Neal, 22, of New Caney is charged with Theft of a Firearm (state jail felony)

Olon Reece Miller, 45, of Cleveland is charged with Theft of a Firearm (state jail felony) and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by Felon (state jail felony)

Stephanie Elizabeth Mead, 38, of Porter is charged with Theft of a Firearm (state jail felony), Possession of a Controlled Substance <1 gm. (state jail felony) and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by Felon (state jail felony)

Melanie Spring Osburn, 33, of Cleveland is charged with Theft of a Firearm (state jail felony) and Possession of a Controlled Substance <1 gm. (state jail felony)

Whitney Michelle Calloway, 21, of The Woodlands is charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance <1 gm. (state jail felony) and an outstanding felony warrant.

Arrested in Liberty County:

Gerald Boyd Kamenicky, 29, of Willis is charged with Possession / Transport of Chemical w/Intent to Manufacture Controlled Substance (second-degree felony) and Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance >=1 gm., <4 gm. (second-degree felony)

Gary Wayne Bryant III, 22, of Houston is charged with Possession / Transport of Chemical w/Intent to Manufacture Controlled Substance (second-degree felony) and Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance >=1 gm., <4 gm. (second-degree felony) . He also had an active Harris County warrant for Robbery with Bodily Injury

Sunshine Dawn Bush, 31, of Cleveland is charged with Possession / Transport of Chemical w/Intent to Manufacture Controlled Substance (second-degree felony) and Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance >=1 gm., <4 gm. (second-degree felony)

Jimmy Ferrell Martin, 46, of Porter is charged with Possession / Transport of Chemical w/Intent to Manufacture Controlled Substance (second-degree felony) and Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance >=1 gm., <4 gm. (second-degree felony)