DUBOIS – A DuBois man will stand trial for having a methamphetamine lab in his home.
Steven F. Sunealitis, 53, 1233 S. Main St., DuBois, is charged with manufacture/delivery/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, deposits/stores/disposes of chemical waste used in the manufacture of methamphetamines, intentional possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing during Centralized Court.
This was Sunealitis’ second arrest for having a meth lab. In August of 2006, he was sentenced to four to eight years in state prison for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession of red phosphorous and possession of drug paraphernalia. He remains incarcerated on a state parole violation for this previous case. His bail in the new case is $5,000, straight.
An investigation into Sunealitis began in May after a state parole agent arrived at his residence to conduct a drug screen, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Prior to administering the test, Sunealitis stated that his urine was going to be “dirty,” because he just did a line of methamphetamines. The agent found a glass sheet with a white powdery substance on it in Sunealitis’ bedroom. He told the agent it was meth, and explained that he started using the “shake and bake” method to cook meth in his basement. He admitted he had a cooler in the garage with meth and other cooking elements in it. Sunealitis was taken into custody.
Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. was contacted by the agent and a search warrant obtained for the residence.
In June a lab report on items taken in the search showed that they were key ingredients for the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamines. All of the items were consistent with the “one-pot” method of making the drug.
In the original case, officials raided the Sunealitis residence on South Avenue in DuBois in January of 2006, where they found 545 grams of a liquid used to make methamphetamine. When he arrived home he was carrying three bags of the finished product, which weighed approximately 2.5 grams.
Sunealitis admitted he got the recipe off the Internet and tried to make methamphetamine himself, according to a previous article.
At the time of sentencing, Shaw noted that the finished product from the Sunealitis lab was of good quality. A chemist said he was one of the best producers of methamphetamines he had seen and that Sunealitis knew what he was doing, Shaw said.