Local News

Homemade bombs, meth lab found in Johnston home

A report of a stolen weapon led Johnston County deputies to a home near Four Oaks this week where they found two homemade bombs and a methamphetamine manufacturing operation.

Posted — Updated
Four Oaks meth lab
FOUR OAKS, N.C. — A report of a stolen weapon led Johnston County deputies to a home near Four Oaks this week where they found two homemade bombs and a methamphetamine manufacturing operation.

Jeffrey Michael Beasley, 38, told authorities last week that someone had stolen cash and a rifle from his Bass Road home. But Beasley wasn't supposed to have any firearms because he was convicted in 2014 on a felony drug charge.

When deputies went to arrest him Tuesday on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, they saw materials inside the home that can be used to make meth, authorities said. A search of the home turned up not only a meth lab but also two homemade bombs.

The State Bureau of Investigation's bomb squad was called in to detonate the two devices.

Beasley was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, manufacturing methamphetamines and other offenses, and he was being held Thursday in the Johnston County jail under a $550,000 bond.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also is investigating the case.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.