Madison County Sheriff’s Office investigators last week arrested an Oneida man for having two meth labs in a Canastota residence.
According to the sheriff’s office, on Aug. 8 their investigators and members of the Canastota Police Department responded to 102 East Chapel Street in the Village of Canastota for a report of a strong chemical odor consistent with odors produced during the cooking of methamphetamine. Investigators obtained information that a man was possibly cooking meth inside the apartment, so they entered and located Ronald R. Ortman Jr., 38, of 150 Madison Street apartment 6, Oneida.
Ortman admitted to investigators that he had been cooking meth in the apartment and hid the lab in the attic. Due to the hazardous material contained in a meth lab, the building was evacuated.
A search warrant was executed which led to the discovery of two meth labs inside the residence. The New York State Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team (CCSERT) seized the two labs and removed them from the scene.
Sheriff’s investigators arrested Ortman and charged him with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree (Class A felony), unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine in the third degree (Class D felony), criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree (Class A misdemeanor) and endangering the welfare of a child (Class A misdemeanor).
Ortman was arraigned at the Town of Sullivan Court and remanded to the Madison County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond. He is scheduled to reappear at the Village of Canastota Court on August 14 to answer the charges.
