Man in custody after meth lab fire at Princess Motel
From Staff Reports
A 44-year-old Maryville man is in custody following a fire in a room at the Princess Motel on U.S. 411 South early this morning, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
Roger Pete Porter, Floyd Porter Road, is charged with initiating the process of the manufacture of methamphetamine. A female was taken into custody for investigation, but was released with no charges.
Maryville Police and Fire Departments responded to the Princess Motel at around 2:15 am today to a fire alarm at the motel. When they arrived, they found a fire in one of the units. Maryville police officers made entry into the room, and found what appeared to be a meth lab. Investigators with the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force arrived, and after interviewing Porter, they learned he was in the process of manufacturing meth when the lab caught on fire.
An individual in a neighboring room was treated for smoke inhalation after he attempted to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher prior to the arrival of the Maryville Fire Department. Porter and a female who was in the room with Porter were decontaminated by Maryville firefighters at the scene.
The Maryville Police and Fire departments responded, as well as Rural/Metro Ambulance Service. The Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force was on the scene to dispose of the hazardous materials.
Porter is being held on a $75,000 bond at the Blount County Detention Facility pending a 9 a.m. Feb. 20 hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court. This marks the sixth meth lab the Drug Task Force has worked this year, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
