Jonathan Michael Pope, Heather Leann Studd
Kershaw County, SC (WLTX) - Kershaw County deputies say a child is in protective custody and two people have been arrested following the discovery of what they say was a meth lab at a hotel.
Officers say 26-year-old Heather Leann Studd and 26-year-old Jonathan Michael Pope have been charged with possession of methamphetamine. Studd was also charged with unlawful possession of Schedule IV narcotics.
Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews says on January 13, they got a community tip that led them to the Economy Inn on U.S. 1 in Lugoff. Officers say when they went to room 12, they found Studd and Pope inside.
Matthews says investigators found a small amount of meth, instruments for smoking the drug--and a one-month-old infant. The sheriff says investigators believe the baby was the couple's child. The child was taken into Department of Social Services protective custody.
According to Matthews, Pope told them that 27-year-old Christopher Britt Walker was making meth in room 19 of the hotel. According to investigators, Pope said that they were using room 12 whenever the fumes from making meth got too bad in room 19.
Investigators say after they got a search warrant, they found meth lab equipment in room 19 and an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine.
Officers say clothing and other evidence led them to conclude that Walker and 24-year-old Nicole Marie Goodwin were the occupants of the room.
Pope and Studd were taken to the Kershaw County Detention Center. Arrest warrants have been issued for Goodwin and Walker.
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, or e-mail a tip in to Crimestoppers of the Midlands. You can also text information in by texting "TIPSC" plus your message to CRIMES (274637). Either way you choose, your identity will remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.