Deputies arrest 3 brothers, find meth-lab tools

5/13/2004

James Richter

PIONEER, Ohio - A domestic violence call from a woman who said her husband was manhandling her led to the arrest of three brothers on warrants and the discovery of materials used in the manufacture of methamphetamines.

All three were arrested by Williams County sheriff's deputies on warrants from Steuben County, Indiana, which adjoins Williams County to the west, and taken to the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio. Deputies were called to the residence southeast of Pioneer at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Arrested were:

●Douglas Wayne Richter, 37, whose wife called authorities, on a warrant for failing to fulfill his time in the Steuben County jail after he was convicted of public intoxication and leaving the scene of an accident.

●James P. Richter, 19, on warrants for residential entry last year, and several counts of theft and possession of a controlled substance in 2002. Steuben County also had warrants on him for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, four counts of criminal mischief, two counts of consumption of alcohol by a minor, and fleeing law enforcement.

●Matthew M. Richter, 39, on a warrant for trying to sell a counterfeit substance he represented as methamphetamine in 2002.

Deputies found materials used to make methamphetamines in the garage and inside a vehicle.

The Multi Area Narcotics Task Force was called to investigate.

The task force calls meth "the fastest-growing drug threat" in the country.

A video arraignment of the three was started in Bryan Municipal Court yesterday but was delayed because paperwork was not complete.