His wife, Brynne Kay Lee, 28, was charged just hours later with manufacturing meth, maintaining a dwelling, possession of meth and two counts possession of precursor. Her bond was set at $150,000.
Sheriff Thornton said though he has no knowledge that the children, a 3-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, were ever in the barn, he does believe they had access to the dangerous meth lab.
"It would have been easy for them to have gotten in the building," he said.
The meth lab was discovered Tuesday night after Mr. Lee's sister reported a domestic dispute between she and her brother at her home on Lee Allen Pope Lane, authorities said. The dispute erupted over the Lees' children returning to what his sister said was a meth environment.
Mr. Lee reportedly had obvious signs of meth use, such as meth sores on his face, Sheriff Thornton said. While searching him for officer safety while at his sister's residence, authorities found about one gram of meth. A .22-caliber revolver was found in the console of his vehicle.
The children were placed in the custody of Mr. Lee's parents.
Two hours after deputies responded to the domestic dispute, the sheriff's office went to the Lee residence and found the meth lab after Mr. Lee agreed to a search. Shortly after that, a warrant was obtained so the State Bureau of Investigation could assess and clean up the lab; cleaning up a meth lab takes at least 24 hours, Sheriff Thornton said.
"That's the thing that the public is not aware of. They just assume it's a simple process, but it's very complicated and time consuming," he said.
Once officers are on the scene of a meth lab, they cannot leave until it is completely cleaned up and both neighbors and the scene itself are protected. There were five officers at Tuesday's lab bust.
"They've had no sleep and they're not paid (overtime)," Sheriff Thornton said. "I have to give them time off, which of course takes away from them doing something during a normal eight- to 10-hour workday."
Authorities did not leave the Lee residence until about 9 last night, he said, which means officers spent more than 25 hours at the residence dealing with the meth lab.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee are both being held in the Sampson County Detention Center. They are set to appear in court on the meth charges Feb. 8.
In the past, Mr. Lee has been convicted of shooting a firearm into an occupied dwelling, according to state Department of Correction records. Though no convictions are listed by the Department of Correction for his wife, Sheriff Thornton said she has previously been cited for drug paraphernalia and other misdemeanor offenses.
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