Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 Source: Enterprise-Journal, The (MS) Copyright: 2002 The Enterprise-Journal Contact: http://www.enterprise-journal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/917 Author: David Bruser, Staff Writer Note: This article is posted in exception to MAP's general policy not to archive articles concerning individual drug arrests or trials, because of its detail and vivid coverage of the trial testimony. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) COUPLE PLEAD TO DRUG CHARGES LIBERTY -- Tim and Jan Homan, a Smithdale couple facing multiple drug charges, pled guilty this morning before closing arguments could be made. Circuit Court Judge Al Johnson sentenced the Homans to 20 years on each count to run concurrently, five years suspended and post-release supervision. He also fined them each $5,000 for each count and ordered them to undergo intensive drug rehabilitation by the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The emotional Smithdale couple told a jury Wednesday how they lost their dogs and home to fire but denied knowing anything about the several thousand dollars worth of methamphetamine that officials found on the scene. Meanwhile, 12 jurors got a crash chemistry course, hearing much about how certain hazardous chemicals can produce a highly addictive drug. Tim Homan, 47, and Jan Homan, 42, both of 6574 Bales Road, are charged with manufacturing 106.7 grams of methamphetamine, possession of 106.7 grams of methamphetamine and possession of two or more precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. The trial entered its third day today in the Amite County Circuit Court. The fire reportedly started around 8:50 a.m. on Jan. 26, when Tim Homan tried to hook a butane tank to a space heater. Firemen from four departments went to the scene, including Bill Sharp of the East Central Volunteer Fire Department. He testified that upon arrival he immediately smelled anhydrous ammonia, a fertilizer and key ingredient in meth production. "The anhydrous ammonia hit me in my face. You could smell it," he said of the corrosive chemical. "So, I told the boys, 'Y'all back off.' " Testifying for the state, William Jacob McDermott, Jan Homan's son, said his family operated a meth lab that produced 14, sometimes 28 grams per week. "We cooked using anhydrous ammonia and ether," he said. McDermott, 24, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine but sentencing is delayed until the conclusion of the Homans' trial. He also faces desertion charges brought by the U.S. Air Force. Tim Homan denied his stepson's allegations. "A young man that's done all he's done ... I think what he's done was downright cold-hearted," he said of McDermott's plea. When asked by District Attorney Ronnie Harper about her relationship with her son, Jan Homan started screaming and slammed her fist on the witness stand. "That's my son, and I love my son," she said, then stood and left the stand without being excused. She sat next to her attorney and hugged a stuffed animal. "I hate him," she said, looking at Harper. Judge Johnson recessed for five minutes. Trying to restrain an agitated Jan, Tim bearhugged her as they walked to the courthouse balcony to smoke a cigarette. Sheriff's deputy Tim Wroten and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent Conner Magee testified they found numerous items strewn on the property, all synonymous with meth labs; a vial with meth residue inside a Betty Boop watch tin; 50-pound tank filled with anhydrous ammonia sitting in a dugout beneath the mobile home; a gas mask; ether; a meth recipe downloaded from the Internet, titled "Methamphetamine Synthesis;" and a plastic tea pitcher containing ammonia, ether and 106.7 grams of finished product. "Every step you take, you find more and more things," Magee said during a pre-trial motion Tuesday. The Homans claimed they never knew about the anhydrous ammonia tank. "I've never picked up a tank of anhydrous ammonia," Tim said. "I wouldn't even know where to get a tank of anhydrous ammonia." He admitted he used ether but only for working on diesel engines. "When you look at the back of the ether can, it will tell this is what it's used for," he said. The defense also claimed Magee never had permission to search the property. But Magee said Tim Homan consented verbally to a search. On Tuesday Judge Johnson denied a motion to suppress evidence resulting from the search. Defense attorney Richard Chafin of Denham Springs, La., filed the motion. Johnson said officials were justified in looking for chemicals that might accelerate the fire. "Clearly the officers had the right to ascertain which dangerous conditions were present," he said. "So there was clearly an emergency situation." As for the 106.7 grams of meth, the Homans claimed it wasn't theirs. Lawmen found the meth in a motor home on the Homan property. The vehicle's owner, Jack Huber, once lived with the Homans but reportedly is now in the Tangipahoa Parish jail for methamphetamine manufacturing. Louisiana officials arrested Huber in December, more than one month before the Smithdale fire occurred. Chafin suggested Huber made the dope found on the Homan property. He asked Magee and Wroten why they never tried testing for fingerprints on the precursors and paraphernalia. Harper dismissed the idea that someone other than the Homans made the dope. "Could anyone have been living out there and not known what was going on?" he asked Magee. "No sir." The Homans behaved erratically throughout the trial. The first day of the trial both Tim and Jan fidgeted. Johnson said, "I heard what you testified to and it was totally unbelievable. It's just my opinion but you two were possibly under the influence of drugs when you came here." Johnson said this morning he intended to sentence McDermott to eight years. The Homans embraced as they admitted to the charges against them and after receiving the sentence. Jan screamed out, "15 years?" The Homans were then led off in handcuffs. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl