Firearms, body armor found at meth lab 9 arrested in separate busts

Date Posted: November 4, 2008

KENDALLVILLE — Police acting on a pair of tips arrested six individuals and seized military-style body armor and a pair of firearms at an active methamphetamine lab this morning across the street from the East Noble School Corp. administrative office and less than one block from the police station.

Officers from the Kendallville Police Department, Avilla Police Department, Noble County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police executed a search warrant at 2:36 a.m. at a residence in the 200 block of Orchard Street.

Arrested were:

• Timothy A. Handshoe, 38, of Kendallville;

• Dorine Lovely, 33, of Kendallville;

• Laef A. Lewis, 28, of Kendallville;

• Kenneth Denbraven, 44, of Mobile, Ala.,

• Cody A. Carmichael, 19, of Kendallville;

• A 17-year-old female from Wolcottville.

The 17-year-old was released to the custody of her parents. Charges will be forwarded to the Noble County Probation Department. The other five individuals were being held without bond this morning at the Noble County Jail pending the filing of formal charges.

This morning’s arrest was delayed because police were tied up with another meth lab discovered in the Aspen Cove area of Maple Grove Mobile Home Park early Monday evening. In that incident, three people were arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine.

Police had to finish that investigation before pursuing leads in the Orchard Street case.

Those arrested from the Aspen Cove incident were:

• Stephanie N. Troyer, 22, of LaGrange;

• Corey L. Ramer, 21, of Kendallville;

• Joshua J. Hunt, 21, of Kendallville.

Police seized a small-caliber handgun, a sawed-off shotgun and a military-style flak jacket from the Orchard Street residence. The presence of body armor and firearms at the residence were of particular concern to law enforcement, according to Kendallville Sgt. John Dixon.

“The risk factor jumps up dramatically,” Dixon said. “It could have gotten ugly. I’ve never seen (a flak jacket) involved at a meth lab (in 10 years of law enforcement).”

The firearms were found in the same area of the lab, Dixon said, in the home’s upstairs.

Dixon credited the concerned citizens who called in the tip as well as the investigative effort put in by Patrolman Doug Davis.

“Doug did a really good job with it,” Dixon said.

After conducting multiple interviews, Davis was able to secure the search warrant.

Kendallville police then called in Noble County Special Operations Group (SOG) commander Doug Harp, who is chief deputy of the Noble County Sheriff’s Department, and SOG second-in-command Aaron Knight, a deputy with the sheriff’s department.

Working with Harp and Knight, a plan for entry was created. The subjects were arrested without incident, according to Dixon.

“We were able to secure the scene very quickly,” Dixon said. “Everything went smoothly. You could tell we’d done this before. It went like clockwork.”

A total of nine officers were involved in executing the search warrant.

Earlier in the evening, police received a tip about a potential mobile methamphetamine lab. The vehicle in question, a Chevrolet 1500 pickup, was located and a traffic stop was made by Patrolman Dwight Miller at 5:22 p.m. in the 1800 block of Aspen Cove.

The Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab team was called in to process evidence at both scenes.

By Matt Getts – KPC Media