Police say that a man in North Carolina broke into an empty shed near a vacant mobile home and started cooking meth but blew himself up in the process.
William Tracy Allen Jr., 30, of Hubert, North Carolina–a town just east of Jacksonville–reportedly broke into the empty shed behind a mobile home in Onslow County on November 3. He was apparently looking for a place hidden from view to manufacture Methamphetamine.
Unfortunately for Allen, his attempt to make the drug caused an explosion and he was seriously injured in the blast.
Police were called to the scene and Allen was transported in serious condition to Chapel Hill burn center.
The owner of the property reckons that Allen picked his shed because the property was standing vacant.
Sheriff’s deputies report that charges are pending against Allen.
Methamphetamine is a growing problem in the U.S. Earlier this year, for instance, drug enforcement officers in St. Clair County, Michigan announced that they had made more meth raids this year than in the past three years combined. Officials in Indiana have also seen a growing meth problem after a recent bust that netted the largest amount of crystal meth ever seen in Vanderburgh County. Officers in Portland, Oregon are seeing a sharp rise in meth brought in by the Mexican cartels.
It’s not just the United States experiencing this problem. Among a long list of other countries, authorities in China have even been reporting an increase in meth addiction there.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com