Site of Methamphetamine Lab Burglarized, Police Say

Two men are accused of breaking into a vacant Bath house that authorities say was the site of a methamphetamine lab and trying to get away with miscellaneous kitchen items.

Police say they found Shaun Michael Burke, 32, of Bushkill Township and Douglas Robert Gibb, 22, of Pen Argyl inside the house at 127 Old Forge Drive around 2:40 a.m. Saturday.

Gibb told police his ex-girlfriend told him to go to the house and retrieve her “stuff and kitchen appliances and knives,” court records say.

Five people have been implicated in running the meth lab, and four are known to have been charged. Two of them are women, but the records do not identify Gibb’s girlfriend.

Police raided the suspected lab on Nov. 6 -- Election Day. The house apparently was condemned after that.

During the latest incident, police found two pillowcases of “home items” in the trunk of Gibb’s car -- a black 2003 Saturn Ion sedan -- parked in front of the home.

Also, when Burke lowered himself to the ground as he and Gibb were taken into custody, a “brass decorative duck” and another item fell from Burke’s waist, the records say. Police also saw a knife set and a blender.

The items the men allegedly were trying to take were valued at about $500.

Colonial Regional Patrolman Anthony G. Kovalosky writes in a criminal complaint that police were dispatched to the Old Forge Drive address on a report of people inside a “condemned” house.

They found a yellow notice on the front door that said, “DANGER – This structure is declared unsafe for human occupancy or use. It is unlawful for any person to use or occupy this building after Nov. 6, 2012.”

Kovalosky and Colonial Regional Sgt. George Cuchran saw that the first-floor door, which leads to a driveway, was about halfway open. They also heard two males talking inside and saw light from a flashlight.

The door then closed and they heard one male say, “We will shut the front door and go out the back door.”

The officers entered and immediately saw the suspects on the other side of the first floor, preparing to go out the rear door. The officers ordered the suspects to the ground. They were taken into custody without incident.

Burke, of 418 Old Allentown Road, and Gibb, of 4 S. Robinson Ave., each were charged with burglary, criminal trespass, criminal conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

They were arraigned later Saturday morning by on-duty District Judge Richard Yetter of Wilson and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $35,000 bail each.