Dorchester deputies identify 4 arrested on drug charges after mobile meth lab bust in Summerville

Dorchester County deputies identified four people who were arrested on drug charges after a mobile meth lab was found during a traffic stop in Summerville Wednesday morning

Deputies say they spotted a Chevrolet Equinox leaving a Kangaroo gas station’s fuel pumps at the corner of Central Avenue and Orangeburg Road about 5 a.m.

Four people inside of the sport-utility vehicle appeared nervous after noticing law enforcement, an incident report states.

Deputies pulled over the SUV after they saw that a Go-Kart frame was strapped down loosely on the vehicle’s roof, the report states.

The vehicle’s driver, 18-year-old Chad Edward Nadeau, had only a beginner’s permit, which prompted deputies to ask the remaining three passengers to provide ID, according to the report.

The three people identified themselves as Ashlei Dawne Duff, 28, Michelle Lynn Fields, 33, and Harold Eugene Grooms, 29, but deputies say none of them could provide photo ID.

The group told deputies they were returning to Summerville from a hunting trip in Givhans.

Duff, the SUV’s owner, gave deputies permission to search the vehicle, according to the report.

Deputies found a Pepsi bottle containing a liquid and white pellets inside of a small carry bag in the back of the SUV, the report states.

The bottle appeared to be used to make methamphetamines, deputies say.

Deputies also found a small plastic bag containing a white powder in Nadeau’s shoe, and a pen case with a melted end in his jacket pocket, the report states.

The pen case is similar to what is used to consume drugs, according to deputies.

All four people were taken to the Dorchester County jail on multiple charges including manufacturing methamphetamines and manufacturing the drug near a school.

Nadeau and Grooms faced an additional charge of possession of less than one gram of methamphetamine or cocaine base.

Nadeau was also charged with littering.

A judge set Nadeau’s total bail at $40,515, Duff’s at $20,000, Fields’ at $40,000 and Grooms’ at $40,000.