NORTHWOOD - A domestic disturbance call Wednesday night led officers to discover several methamphetamine labs in and around a rural Northwood home.
Northwood police officers responded to the call shortly after 9 p.m. and were confronted by a man who was holding a 12-inch, serrated bread knife and refusing to let his wife out of the home, said Maj. Bob Rost of the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Department.
Officers told the man, 52-year-old Donald Moore, to drop the knife, and when he didn't comply, they jolted him once with a Taser, Rost said.
While responding to the call, Rost said, officers found materials for making meth in the house and outside in vehicles and belts of trees.
Authorities said there were "several meth labs" on the property at 3306 Fifth Ave. Northeast that sits three to four miles east of Northwood. Rost declined to say exactly how many were found.
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He said the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation finished cleaning the scene this morning. Because the ingredients to make meth are hazardous, Rost said, officials used protective suits when cleaning.
He said his department and other agencies will be following up to see if any chemicals contaminated the area.
Moore has been charged with making meth, two counts of possessing drug paraphernalia, three counts of terrorizing and two counts of felonious restraint.
Moore is set to make an initial court appearance this afternoon. A message left for him at the Grand Forks County jail was not immediately returned.
Rost said authorities had suspected meth production at the home, but that Moore was not the subject of investigation before officers showed up Wednesday. Rost said no other arrests are expected in the case.
- The Grand Forks Herald is owned by Forum Communications Co.
