CLEARFIELD – A DuBois woman accused of having a methamphetamine lab in her home pleaded guilty Monday in Clearfield County Court.
Samantha Marie Bish, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy/operating a meth lab and conspiracy/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance-meth.
Judge Paul E. Cherry sentenced her to time served, which was eight-and-a-half months to two years less one day in jail and two years consecutive probation.
In a second case, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance-oxycodone. For this she was given a concurrent sentence of eight-and-a-half months to two years less one day in jail.
The charges stem from an incident Oct. 12 when police were serving arrest warrants on Bish and her husband, Jeffrey Joel Bish, 38, for the sale of oxycodone to a confidential informant in January of 2016. They found meth and substances used to make meth in their home.
Prior to sentencing, Bish’s attorney Beau Grove stated that she had no criminal history other than these cases and noted that she had agreed to cooperate with authorities.
Jeffrey Bish signed a plea agreement to similar charges in his meth case last week and was sent for an evaluation for the intermediate punishment program, according to court documents.
He pleaded guilty in February in the oxycodone case to conspiracy/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and conspiracy/recklessly endangering another person.
He was sentenced by Cherry at that time, to 90 days to one year in jail and one year consecutive probation.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, when Jeffrey Bish opened his door to police, he was taken into custody. Officers found he had three baggies containing a white powdery substance later identified as methamphetamine. He also had two plastic tubes with white powder residue, a container with hydrocodone, dextoampheramines and methylphenidate.
The officers located Samantha Bish in a bedroom where they saw a container with a white powdery substance, and a glass jar with a white powdery substance on the bottom and liquid on the top, which appeared to be a possible meth lab, according to the complaint.
At this time, two children were in the home and another had already left for school.
After Samantha Bish was taken into custody, she gave permission to police to search the residence. She told them she was aware of drugs and drug-making items in the home.
Jeffrey Bish said there was “stuff” in their bedroom cooking that was not finished yet, according to the complaint. He also directed the officers to the back porch where there was a bucket full of run-off material from meth production.
The Bish home and a neighbor’s home were evacuated due to the fumes coming off the bucket.
Police said they recovered seven plastic bottles containing various colors of a chunky substance, a metallic substance, tablet pieces, a clear liquid, one bottle with residue, seven plastic bottles containing a white crystalline substance, other items used to make methamphetamine, scales, straws and bags with white powder or residue.
All of the items seized contained the ingredients for the manufacture of methamphetamine. The total weight of items seized that contained methamphetamine was 1,112.09 grams, according to the complaint.
