2 Facing Charges For Allegedly Operating Meth Lab In Walmart Parking Lot

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SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A man and a woman are facing charges in Washington County for allegedly operating a meth lab out of a woman's car in a Walmart parking lot and creating a dangerous situation with explosive materials.

South Strabane police tell KDKA it was a "one-pot" meth lab, which produces a smaller amount of meth in a shorter amount of time. Because "one-pot" labs can be transported and are easily hidden, they pose a great danger to the public.

"Luckily, it was that time of night where it wasn't broad daylight business where you have maximum traffic," South Strabane Fire Chief Scott Reese said.

South Strabane police were called to the Walmart on Trinity Point Drive late on Oct. 13, 2016 for a report of people using drugs in the car.

Officers first spotted stolen merchandise inside and then called firefighters for backup when they discovered a meth lab in the trunk.

"It can be anything as far as a mishandling that they were doing or something that was in that vehicle," Reese said about the dangers.

Police say the "one-pot" lab had all the items needed to convert pseudoephedrine into methamphetamine, as well as the finished product ready for sale.

"Don't get me wrong, the homes and residential labs are just as bad, but that's more of a stable setting versus having a mobile setting that was sitting in a parking lot," Reese said.

The state police clandestine laboratory response team carefully gathered the evidence.

Police charged 41-year-old Jody Bogol, of Washington, Pa., and 38-year-old Eva Kovach, of Brownsville, Pa., with operating a meth lab, manufacturing meth with the intent to deliver it and risking catastrophe, among other charges.

Bogol is being held in the Washington County Jail and Kovach is out on bond.

They are scheduled to have their preliminary hearings on Oct. 10, 2017. Bogol also has a robbery case pending in Westmoreland County.