Pair accused in making meth at area motel room

BENTON, Mo. -- An Arkansas couple are in the Scott County Jail after being arrested on a charge of having a methamphetamine lab in their motel room, said police. Another couple are also in jail, charged with drug trafficking.

Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell said Ella Champion, 42, and Jacob H. Williams, 29, of Hot Springs, Ark., face a host of drug-related charges, including attempting to manufacture a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute.

Authorities were alerted to the case when they received a call Thursday morning regarding a strange odor coming from a motel room in the Miner, Mo., area.

Deputies, Miner officers and federal drug enforcement agents searched the room and a car parked outside.

Police said they found a methamphetamine lab more typical of Kansas City than Southeast Missouri. The suspects were using the "red phosphorus" method, Ferrell said.

Most methamphetamine labs found locally use the anhydrous ammonia method.

Bond for Champion and Williams is set at $200,000 each.

Jessica M. and Garry W. Newberry were arrested Tuesday after a Scott County narcotic investigation. Police said the two are married, but Garry Newberry, 39, lives in Leslie, Mo., and Jessica Newberry, 31, lives in East Cahokia, Ill.

Deputies stopped the Newberrys' car west of Sikeston, Mo., near Salcedo, Mo.

A search of the vehicle revealed a large quantity of methamphetamine sorted and packaged for distribution, Ferrell said.

Bond for each is set at $500,000.