Sand Springs Men Arrested For Exposing Elderly Man, Child To Meth Lab

Sand Springs Police arrested a man for running a meth lab in the house where he cared for his elderly father and young son. Jack Lee Evans, 56, is in Tulsa County Jail on several complaints including manufacturing methamphetamine, child endangerment and elder abuse.

A second man, 27-year-old Derek Wayne Smith, was also arrested. He ran from police and was found hiding on a neighbor's property.

Officers went to the house in the 1200 block of Eucha Creek Place Monday after getting an anonymous tip. They were about 20 feet outside the home when they smelled a "strong and distinct chemical odor...associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine," the arrest report states.

When police confronted Evans about the smell, they say he implied there was an intruder in the garage. Officers found a an active "one pot" lab operating in the garage.

While one officer talked to Evans, another gave chase after seeing Smith run from the garage. Smith climbed over a back fence, and the police officer tased him. Smith fell to the ground but got up and kept running. He was finally apprehended crouched on his hands and knees in a bush outside a house in the 1000 block of North Willow Road.

After getting a search warrant, Sand Springs Police found multiple meth pipes, a joint and paraphernalia inside the Evans house.

They also found an elderly man and a child who were taken to a local hospital to be examined by a nurse trained in dangerous drug exposure, the report states.

Evans told police he was the primary caregiver for his elderly father. He was booked into jail on child endangerment and elder abuse complaints in addition to manufacturing meth, possession of precursor, possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

The Sand Springs man has a criminal history in Tulsa and Osage counties for drug possession, receiving deferred and suspended sentences.

Derek Smith was arrested on complaints of meth manufacture, possession of a precursor, child endangerment, elder abuse, possession of marijuana and paraphernalia and resisting arrest. He also had several outstanding felony and misdemeanor outstanding warrants.