Police arrest 3 in Mount Pleasant meth-lab case

Police arrested three people Tuesday after uncovering what they said is a small meth-making lab in a Mount Pleasant home where children stayed.

Officers went to 746 Wakendaw Blvd. at 6:14 p.m. after they received a tip about a possible methamphetamine lab in the house, said Capt. Stan Gragg of the Mount Pleasant Police Department.

“The investigation did reveal a small-scale lab had been operated at this residence on previous occasions,” Gragg said in a statement. “Officers donned protective equipment and were able to confirm the presence of precursor chemicals, but not an active lab.”

Daniel E. Johnston III, a 30-year-old resident of Woodlock Road in Mount Pleasant, and 31-year-old Heidi M. Dawley, who lives at the house, were arrested on two counts of exposing a child to meth manufacturing and/or chemicals. Gragg said Dawley’s two children were in the Wakendaw Lakes home when the lab was operating.

Lauren E. Pender, 21, also was arrested on charges of possession of schedule IV controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia and providing false information to police officers.

Gragg said paramedics transported the children and an elderly woman to a hospital as a precaution. The woman, Dawley’s grandmother, was not charged, according to Gragg. The children were turned over to the S.C. Department of Social Services.

Firefighters and officers cleared the scene after six hours, Gragg said.

Reach Andrew Knapp at 937-5414 or on Twitter at @offlede.