CRESTVIEW — Lawmen arrested Joshua Lambert-Albright, 22, of Baker, on third-degree felony drug charges after a suspicious-person call led to a meth bust.
A Crestview police officer on Friday inspected the area of 1501 E. James Lee Blvd. He walked up to an abandoned concrete structure in the wooded lot between American Self Storage and Dollar General, where he heard "two or three subjects begin running through the woods" after announcing his presence, according to the arrest report.
Due to the brush's thickness, the CPD officer did not pursue the subjects, but he returned to the location with Crestview Police Sgt. Howe. No one was hiding inside, but police found items commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine sitting on a window sill, the report said.
These included 100 percent lye, a water bottle containing liquid and a white powder, a stripped lithium battery and an instant cold pack. The white substance field tested positive for pseudoephedrine.
The suspicious items called for the police department to request the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office to assume the investigation. The Okaloosa County Multi Agency Drug Task Force also assisted.
Communication between the joined forces led investigators to Lambert-Albright, who had been detained for trespassing at a residence that connects to the wooded lot.
Lambert-Albright admitted to being inside the concrete structure with another subject and fleeing when the CPD officer first arrived. He also admitted that the found items were his and that he had been using methamphetamine for the past two years and has been cooking it for a year and a half, the report said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker man arrested in Crestview drug bust