Wasilla man indicted on meth lab charges

PALMER -- Arthur Powers, a 21-year-old Wasilla resident, was recently indicted for operating a methamphetamine lab out of a Wasilla home. Powers pled not guilty on two counts involving the possession and production of the drug.

Powers was arraigned March 30 before a grand jury, and released on bail on March 31 following a bail hearing that afternoon.

Investigators with the Mat-Su Drug Team received several tips from anonymous sources, Crimestoppers, and known informants that Powers and his associates were producing and selling methamphetamine, according to an affidavit accompanying charging documents filed in Palmer Superior Court. These tips were received in a period of time from the middle of September 2003 to the beginning of January 2004.

After obtaining a search warrant, investigators with the Mat-Su Drug team, Anchorage Police Department and Alaska State Troopers proceeded to search homes at 551 North Robin Circle No. 5 and 1782 North Pioneer Peak Drive.

According to Officer D.A. Shelton with the Alaska State Troopers, the unit at 551 North Robin Circle yielded a stolen Rossi .357-caliber revolver, three plastic shopping bags full of unused book matches with striking covers removed, and the wrappers and empty boxes associated with these matches.

Found in the residence at 1782 North Pioneer Peak Drive were all of the makings of a methamphetamine operation, including six boxes of matchbook covers containing striker plates, two unopened boxes of pseudoephedrine tablets, several blister packets of pseudoephedrine, stained coffee filters, Naptha paint thinner, muriatic acid, liquid drain cleaner and more than a dozen quart-sized Mason jars that contained liquid in the first three stages of the four-stage methamphetamine extraction process. All of these materials were found within a 3-square-foot area inside the apartment.

Investigators also found a coffee filter containing what they believe to be red phosphorous. Red phosphorous is used in manufacturing methamphetamine and is a listed chemical, meaning that, while not strictly illegal, its import and distribution is closely controlled.

The matches and wrappers found at Robin Circle were the same brand as those found in the boxes at Pioneer Peak Drive.

Shelton, who has been involved in the investigation of more than 20 meth labs, believes that the quantity and combination of materials found at 1782 North Pioneer Peak Drive could only be used for the purpose of manufacturing the drug.

Statements allegedly made to Shelton by Natasha Foode suggest that she, Powers and a 6-week-old infant currently live at the apartment at 551 Robin Circle. Foode reportedly said she saw the revolver sitting on top of the TV in the residence, and when she asked Powers about it, he only laughed. Foode believed Powers to be responsible for the weapon, according to the affidavit.

According to the Alaska Trial Courts Database, Powers was also charged with misconduct involving controlled substances in the sixth degree in Fairbanks in 2001, but the charges were dismissed.

Powers is now charged with two counts of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, one for manufacturing a material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains methamphetamine, and one for possessing a listed chemical with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Both of these counts are felonies.

Powers was also originally charged with second-degree theft of a firearm or explosive, but these charges were withdrawn during the indictment process.

His trial is scheduled for June 8 before Judge Beverly Cutler of the Palmer Superior Court.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.