MARCH 23, 2015
MORGAN CITY, LOUISIANA
A Morgan City-area woman was hospitalized and her sister
arrested after a vehicle police say operated as a mobile meth lab caught fire, Morgan
City police report.
Morgan City Police Department officers responded around 2
a.m. Monday (March 23) to the fire on an elevated stretch of U.S. 90, where the
Morgan City Fire Department and a hazmat team helped extinguish the flames.
Evidence allegedly showed sisters Jewel Ross and Pearl Ross,
both 31 and from Amelia, had been operating "a functioning clandestine
laboratory used in production of methamphetamine."
Pearl Ross suffered severe burns and was airlifted to a
hospital in Morgan City before she was transferred to a burn unit in Baton
Rouge.
Jewel Ross refused medical treatment for minor burns. She
was then booked into the MCPD jail on a charge of creating/operating a
clandestine laboratory and given a bond of $100,000.
Additional charges are possible.
//---------------------------//
Jewel A. Ross, 31 years of age, Address-Amelia, La. was
arrested on 03/23/2015 @ 7:19 am
Charge: Create/Operate a Clandestine Laboratory
Charge: Create/Operate a Clandestine Laboratory
At 2:01am on 03/23/2015, officers were
dispatched to the elevated portion of U.S. Highway 90 in regards to a vehicle
fire. Officers arrived to discover a vehicle burning with two occupants,
Jewel Ross and Pearl Ross, both 31 years of age, of Amelia, La.
The fire was extinquished by the Morgan City Fire
Department. During the investigation, officers uncovered evidence which
indicated that the subjects were in possession of a functioning clandestine
laboratory used in the production of methempetamine.
Evidence indicated that the hazardous contents of the lab
ignited, leading to a fire inside the vehicle. A hazardous materials
response team was summoned to the scene to recover and contain any hazardous
waste products. A passenger in the vehicle, Pearl Ross was flown to Teche
Regional Hospital by AirMed unit of Acadian Ambulance Service with severe
burns.
She was then transported to a Baton Rouge burn unit and was
last listed in serious condition. Jewel Ross, sister of Pearl Ross
refused medical treatment for minor burns. Investigators secured an
arrest warrant for Jewel Ross based on the evidence recovered.
She was arrested and remains incarcerated in the Morgan City
Police Department's jail facility with a bond of $100,000.00. The
investigation is continuing and additional charges are possible based on the
outcome of that investigation.