Photo Gallery | Sheriff: Three arrested in meth lab bust

The Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested two men and a woman after deputies discovered a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory that was being operated at a residence near West Columbia.

According to Sheriff James R. Metts, deputies arrested 40-year-old Jerald David Chase, 27-year-old Jimmy Leon Marsh, III, and 32-year-old Betty Alice Nix on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.

The report said on Tuesday, NET officers received information that a meth lab was being operated at Nix’s residence on Norman Drive.

Around 5:20 p.m., officers went to the home and detected a strong chemical odor emanating from the residence that they recognized as an indication that a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory was being operated at the residence, Metts said.

Officers searched Nix’s residence and found one glass Mason jar in a bedroom that contained a white residue and liquid that had a cloudy appearance, Metts said. Officers also found one reaction vessel that is used to manufacture methamphetamine on the floor in front of a bathroom door, the report stated.

Chase, Marsh and Nix each were being held on Wednesday, March 6 at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting bond hearings.