Police say 3 Schoharie County men were in mobile meth lab

PHOTOGRAPHER: New York State Police

Brian Dolan, left, Christopher Woods, center, and Kurtis Jansen.

Three Schoharie County men are under arrest after police say they were found with a mobile methamphetamine lab in Schoharie on Sunday.

According to the New York State Police, the men were stopped for a traffic offense when police determined they “had no reason” to be at the house they had stopped at, one of them was wanted in Tennessee for violating probation, and they allegedly had the components of a small meth lab in their car.

In a news release, the operation is described as a “one-pot method, clandestine” meth lab.

“We really haven’t dealt with it a lot in our county,” said State Police Sgt. Timothy Preston. “It was definitely a bit surprising. We were taken aback by it.”

Preston said the method, more common in Southern states, often uses a two-liter soda bottle or other container of that size to manufacture small amounts of meth without heat.

“This is extremely dangerous,” he said. “The chemicals they’re utilizing are very caustic. So the fact that we located this is disconcerting to us. If there are people who are aware of others out there who are producing this, we want them to come forward. This is not something that we want to deal with on a regular basis.”

He said the chemicals involved were dangerous enough that a special team was called in to dispose of them.

The men arrested were Brian J. Dolan, 28, of Broome; Christopher C. Woods, 30, of Middleburgh; and Kurtis E. Jansen, 20, of Cobleskill.

All three were charged with unlawful manufacturing of methamphetamine and criminal possession of meth manufacturing material as well as other crimes and violations.

Woods is also wanted on meth-related charges in Tennessee, according to police.

Preston said the one-pot method generally does not produce enough meth for criminal sale, and there was no evidence that the men were planning to sell it.

All three were arraigned in Schoharie Town Court. Dolan and Jansen were sent to jail on $20,000 cash bail and $40,000 bond. Woods was sent to jail without bail.