Couple faces meth charges, felony counts of child neglect

TROY - A husband and wife who saw their home searched by state and local police last month remained in jail Friday after their arrest on methamphetamine charges.

Patrick L. Keown, 30, and his 24-year-old wife, Whitney, each face a Class B felony charge of dealing in methamphetamine, as well as lesser felony charges of possessing the drug, maintaining a common nuisance, possessing chemical reagents used to make meth and dumping controlled substance waste. Each also faces a Class D felony charge of neglect of a dependent.

The couple gave jail officials an address of 1002 15th St. in Tell City, but police reported finding them April 1 in a home they were searching at 11035 Indiana 545 in Troy.

According to an affidavit filed in Perry Circuit Court, police located small plastic bags containing a white, powdery substance that allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine. Foil and paraphernalia were also located in a bedroom, officers allege. A small child in the home was turned over to Child Protective Services.

Police said a search of a car in the driveway turned up two cans of camp fuel, used in the process of making the drug. Trash located near the home, the court document states, included signs of alleged methamphetamine manufacturing, including pseudoephedrine-tablet blister packs, lithium battery hulls and coffee filters that contained residue of pills, airline tubing and reaction vessels used to make methamphetamine.

Police said other drug-making supplies were found in an overgrown area off the home's driveway. A makeshift table, camouflaged with a coating of green paint, were located in an overgrown area away from a driveway. Also located there were more alleged drug-making supplies, including empty boxes of pseudoephedrine tablets.

Patrick and Whitney Keown were being held Friday in the Perry County Jail on $17,500 bail.