NJ pair operated meth lab in storage unit, authorities say

Two Freehold residents were arrested after police said they learned they were operating a meth lab inside a unit at a self-storage facility in Monmouth County.

Ashley Weathers, 32, and Christian Boyle, 40, have been charged with first-degree maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility, and second degree possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, as well as an additional drug charge, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Authorities say Weathers and Boyle were arrested following a motor vehicle stop on Routes 1&9 in Rahway Wednesday evening. During the course of an investigation, police seized approximately 15 grams of methamphetamine from the vehicle. They were both taken into custody and transported to Union County Jail in Elizabeth.

According to authorities, the Prosecutor’s Office’s Guns, Gangs, Drugs, and Violent Crimes Task Force conducted an investigation which revealed that Weathers and Boyle had been distributing methamphetamine in Union County. Police then obtained a warrant to search Boyle's storage unit in Freehold.

Once inside, authorities say they found "a fully functional" meth lab, that included large quantities of pseudoephedrine along with chemicals commonly mixed with that drug to produce methamphetamine." The Prosecutor's Office said police also found various pieces of equipment used to mix the substances together.

"The apparatus was dismantled safely by members of the New Jersey State Police Hazardous Materials Response Unit and the Monmouth County Hazmat Unit," the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Authorities from the Union County Sheriff’s Office’s Identification Unit then seized and processed the evidence, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

If convicted, Weathers and Boyle face 10 to 20 years on the first-degree charges and .

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.