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Meth defendant pleads
guilty
By CHRISTOPHER BOBBY Tribune Chronicle
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WARREN - A North Bloomfield woman, whose home served as a methamphetamine
lab, is expected to be sentenced to at least two years behind bars after
pleading guilty Monday to manufacturing illegal drugs.
Gretchen K. Gifford, 36, who lived at 2016 Cook's Lane, pleaded guilty
Monday to a second-degree felony charge of illegal manufacturing of drugs
and a third-degree felony charge of endangering children.
She remains free on bond while undergoing the pre-sentence investigation
ordered by Judge Peter Kontos.
Gifford indicated she will take care of personal matters before the
sentencing hearing in about six months, according to assistant prosecutor
Charles Morrow.
Gifford's boyfriend, David E. Heath Jr., 31, who had addresses in Andover
and Bloomfield, was sentenced last week by Judge W. Wyatt McKay to serve
three years in prison after pleading guilty to the same charges as outlined
in a plea agreement.
Agents with the Trumbull-Ashtabula Group (TAG) Law Enforcement Task Force
staged a raid at the home Feb. 7, 2008, even charging another man with
possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs as he drove on to the
property as agents were wearing protective suits while searching for
evidence with the search warrant. He was convicted of a misdemeanor earlier
in Newton Falls Municipal Court, according to Morrow.
Agents used a confidential informant to gain the warrant after investigating
for several months. Other narcotics officers, including those from Niles and
at the state level, also tracked the lab activities, through the purchases
of Sudafed an over-the-counter decongestant.
The agents were first concerned that Gifford's two children ages 13 and 8
were contaminated by the chemicals used to make the highly addictive red
powder, known as ''Red P'' for red phosphorus and colored by iodine. The two
were turned over to relatives after the raid.
The kids and Gifford and Heath underwent decontamination by Trumbull
hazardous material team members.
Ashtabula Sheriff's Office Meth Response Team helped in the cleanup and with
dismantling the meth operation that can be volatile since explosive
ingredients are used in the recipe.
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