A quiet Midtown Tulsa neighborhood has been the scene of at least five meth lab busts this year. Neighbors there are now working with police to put meth cooks out of business and put them behind bars.
The Renaissance Neighborhood is a quiet a place, where many young families choose to raise their children. But over the past year, Neighborhood Association President Glenn Hall, says an unwelcome element has moved in. "This the fifth instance we've had just this year. This being the second instance at this residence. So we are seeing a trend here."
Police served a warrant at home in the 1300 Block of South Atlanta Place Monday morning. They arrested 38-year-old Jahna Youngpeter for Manufacturing a controlled drug.
A 7-year-old girl was taken by DHS, to be checked out for exposure to the fumes. Police say Youngpeter will likely also face charges for child endangerment.
Officer say they found a large quantity of meth in the process of being cooked. It's the second time a lab have been found at the house in the past two months. It's marks the fifth lab discovered in neighborhood since January.
Hall says, "Most of the neighbors, if it wasn't for their vigilance on these kinds of things, they would never be discovered. We're a pretty tight neighborhood and we hope to see this stuff stop."
Officer Jason Willingham says neighbors are the police department's greatest ally when it comes to finding meth labs.
He says, "Quite frankly a lot of labs that are in neighborhoods, we would never know without the help of the public. I mean who knows the neighborhoods better? Who knows the houses better where these labs are located than the people who live around those labs?
Hall says he and neighbors will keep calling police until they feel they have driven all the drug activity out of their neighborhood. "We are vigilant as a neighborhood. we will keep the calls coming as we see things that are suspicious."
Police say when you call tips in to police, be as specific as you can. Provide things like tag numbers, or even cell phones pictures. Because police typically respond faster to tips that provide very specific information.
