A Lafayette, Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with the initiation of methamphetamine while in Murfreesboro. Police say they located the suspect after receiving a call about a possible meth lab in a hotel room at the Value Place Inn off John Rice Blvd. It didn’t take long for officers to narrow down which room the lab was one, because the suspect was standing outside the room with a hotel security guard. The police report said when they approached the suspect he stated, “it was definitely a meth lab because it was his room and he was cooking meth.”

The crime was evidently an open and shut situation for authorities. The suspect not only told police about his alleged meth lab, he also introduced himself as “Richard Harper.” The 35 year old told officers that he cooked his meth using a traditional “one pot method and that there was finished product inside the room.” The so called product must have been fresh, because the smell was described as being “strong.”

The Murfreesboro Fire Department was called to the hotel to safely clean the lab and any chemicals that may have leaked onto the floor. Three room adjacent to Harper’s room were evacuated as a precaution. Harper was booked into the county jail under charges of initiation of meth, felony possession of a schedule II drug, felony possession of drug paraphernalia, and reckless endangerment.

Harper is out of jail after posting bond on Thursday afternoon. He will appear in court in the near future.

Source:

Murfreesboro Police Incident Report #13-5909
Murfreesboro Police Arrest Report #13-5909
Rutherford County Sheriff's Office