Jennifer Culp and Meth in Gas Station: Second Arrest for Same Crime

By Daniel Distant, Christian Post Reporter Friday, June 22, 2012

Jennifer Culp's meth in a gas station got the woman arrested. Culp, who also goes by Jennifer Resko Vaughn, was arrested earlier this month for the same crime- she brought a "shake-and-bake" mobile meth lab into a St. Louis County Wal-Mart.

Jennifer Culp was making meth by a gas station, U Gas, at around 9:30 p.m. Monday night when authorities discovered she had a small amount of substance in a soda bottle. Although the Missouri woman tried to toss the bottle away before being arrested, police identified the dangerous substances, and charged her with drug-related criminal activity.

"You have all these chemicals that used to be separated all just dumped in one bottle," Darryl Balleydier, a detective with Franklin County's narcotics unit, told St. Louis Today. "You can actually see the lithium metal burning and sparking in the bottle."

The "shake-and-bake" or "one-pot" methods are more popular because meth makers can quickly and easily purchase ingredients, then mix them on the go. However, the process of methamphetamine making has always been dangerous, and the one-pot technique even more so- they easily explode.

For this reason, during Culp's June 7 arrest, the Wal-Mart had to be evacuated.

"The chemicals are chemically reacting," St. Louis County officer Rich Eckhard told Fox 2 at the time.

Culp was in the holding area after being caught shoplifting when authorities originally discovered her tendency to mix meth on the go. Fortunately, no one was hurt by the 32-year-old's "active lab."

Culp now faces a slew of charges after her arrest. Drug distribution and other misdemeanors round out five separate charges, and the criminal is being held at the St. Louis County Jail on $200,000 cash-only bail, according to St. Louis Today.

While authorities seem certain about the contents of the bottle Culp had, Franklin and St. Louis Counties will test the substances in a lab to be sure.