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A state-police drug-lab team arrived later in the morning and employees of Bio-Tec Emergency Srervices in Shelbyville, contracted to help clean up alleged drug labs, arrived in the afternoon and aided in the cleanup. Troopers and Bio-Tec employees wearing white chemically retardant suits and respirators worked in temperatures well into the mid 90s. Three jailed; patrolmen OK after exposure to chemicals CANNELTON - A chemical-like odor hanging in the humid nighttime air along Old Indiana 237 led officers to an alleged methamphetamine lab before dawn Tuesday. Three men were arrested on drug charges. Police said one of them resisted officers' verbal commands and had to be physically restrained. Another allegedly hid under a car. The third, a Spencer County man suffering from a number of medical problems, offered no resistance, officers said. Arrested at the scene were William J. Weedman, 22, of 21755 Omar Road, St. Croix; 19-year-old Adam C. Gaynor, who gave police no address and Randall L. Krieg Sr., who gave police no age but provided a Dale address. All three men were treated at the scene for exposure to chemicals police said were part of a meth lab in full operation. Two Tell City police officers, Derrick Lawalin and Roger Smith, were examined at Perry County Memorial Hospital after reporting shortness of breath. They were treated at the hospital and saw their personal physicians later in the day. Both received chest X-rays and were back on duty Tuesday night. Other officers at the scene were told to shower at home to remove the threat of inhaling chemicals. Police said Weedman, Gaynor and Krieg were also exposed to the chemicals. After stripping off their clothes, they were hosed down by paramedics using a hose from a Cannelton fire truck, dressed in hospital gowns and taken to the jail. County Sheriff's Deputy Lee Chestnut, the chief investigating officer, said the chemical smell inside the building was overwhelming as he and other officers stepped inside. Chestnut, Smith and Lawalin and State Trooper Mark Lehmkuhler uncovered the alleged drug lab after Chestnut detected an ether-like smell in the area. He requested assistance from other officers to help pinpoint the smell's source. Chestnut said their efforts led them to the brown and tan metal-sided building next to a home at 6425 Old State Road 237, about a mile from Cannelton. Police said the property is owned by Weedman's parents and he sometimes lives in one of two apartments inside. Police said a woman living in the other unit was asked to leave and to have her young children examined by a physician. Officers approached the building and asked everyone inside to come out. Weedman refused and officers stepped inside. The three were then led to a grassy area on the other side of the highway. A state-police drug-lab team arrived later in the morning and employees of Bio-Tec Emergency Srervices in Shelbyville, contracted to help clean up alleged drug labs, arrived in the afternoon and aided in the cleanup. Troopers and Bio-Tec employees wearing white chemically retardant suits and respirators worked in temperatures well into the mid 90s. The cleanup effort wrapped up around 2:30 p.m. Krieg faces a single charge of possession of precursors with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Sheriff Bob Glenn said Krieg suffers from cancer and has a number of medical problems, including an opening in his throat and a chest feeding tube. Krieg was freed later in the day after posting bond. Weedman and Gaynor each face eight charges, the most serious being manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of the drug. They also face felony charges of possessing anhydrous ammonia and precursors. They are being held on $16,600 bonds. Cannelton firemen and county EMS assisted at the scene. Formal charges are expected to be filed this week.
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