4th Arrest Announced in Meth Lab Bust

SARASOTA, FL — An anonymous tip about a possible meth lab operating in an apartment on Gateway Avenue has officially lead to its fourth arrest.

According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, Levi Prendergast, 18, of Sarasota was charged with principle to manufacture of methamphetamine on Wednesday night. His arrest was prompted by an anonymous tip received by the sheriff’s office late Sunday night. The tipster said residents of 6370 Gateway Ave. were cooking meth and had allegedly caught a mattress on fire inside the apartment while doing so.

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• 3 Charged in Meth Lab Bust

Acting on that tip, detectives obtained a search warrant that was carried out early Monday morning. Once inside the home, deputies found 122.6 grams of liquid methamphetamine. Since an active meth lab was also found in the home, deputies evacuated apartments in the immediate area and closed Gateway Avenue to traffic until it was determined the home was safe, a media release from the agency stated.

Three people were arrested on Monday. Jared Broome, 24, and Patrick McClain, 42, were both charged with manufacture of methamphetamine and trafficking in methamphetamine. Kyle Cartwright, 18, was charged with violation of probation for being present in the home while meth was being manufactured, an arrest report stated. Cartwright was on probation for burglary.

Booking photo courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office