Three charged in meth lab raid
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 1, 2017 1:45 AM
Josue Javier Arriaga-Ortega
Guillermo Rivas-Vera
William Fraser Robertson
Goldsboro police discovered and then raided a methamphetamine lab at 308 Linwood Ave. Wednesday after getting a call about an armed person at the house.
Officers arrived on scene at about 11:30 a.m. and found a trio of men arguing in front of the house and reportedly saw evidence of drug activity.
Maj. Anthony Carmon, head of the Goldsboro Police Department's Investigative Services Bureau, said he did not have information on what the men were fighting about.
Police got a search warrant to look for drugs and drug paraphernalia. But when officers did an initial search of the house, a press release said they realized there was a possibility of a methamphetamine lab being operated out of the residence.
Officers halted the search and got a second search warrant -- signed off on by Superior Court Judge Will Bland -- to look for a clandestine methamphetamine lab.
Carmon said a second search warrant was necessary because officers can only execute a search for what is listed on the warrant. Once officers realized there was more going on at the residence than they had initially realized, Carmon said, they had to stop their search and get a warrant to look for evidence of a meth lab.
The Goldsboro Police Department's VICE Unit and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation Clandestine Lab Unit aided with the search and found evidence of a meth lab inside, according to police.
Carmon said methamphetamine was seized from inside the home, but he did not know how much.
He also declined to expand on what evidence was recovered in the home, but said the officers who seized the evidence were state-certified to identify and investigate methamphetamine labs.
The three men at the house were then arrested and charged.
William Fraser Robertson, 28, of 308 Linwood Ave., is charged with felony manufacturing methamphetamine, felony possession with intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine, felony possession of precursor chemicals, felony possession with intent to manufacture methamphetamine and felony maintaining a dwelling for the manufacturing of a controlled substance.
Josue Javier Arriaga-Ortega, 23, of 202 Brandy Drive, Dudley, and Guillermo Rivas-Vera, 20, of 301 Serenity Drive, are each charged with felony manufacturing methamphetamine, felony possession with intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine, felony possession of precursor chemicals and felony possession with intent to manufacture methamphetamine.
The SBI handled the byproducts of the alleged methamphetamine lab, while officers collected the evidence.
Carmon said he was not given information on whether an armed person was found at the home, but that did not mean officers did not find an armed person.
Robertson was put in jail under a $322,000 secured bond.
Arriaga-Ortega and Rivas-Vera were each given a $320,000 secured bond.
Anyone with information about this crime, or any other crime in Wayne County is asked to call or text Crime Stoppers at 919-735-2255 or submit a tip at p3tips.com.
Callers will remain anonymous, and if your information leads to a felony arrest, you will be given a cash reward for the information.