Ex-cop gets 10 years for running meth lab at NJ home
Former Long Branch Police Officer Christopher Walls was sentenced to 10 years in prison for operating a methamphetamine lab at his home. (MCSO)
NEW JERSEY - Former Long Branch Police Officer Christopher Walls, 50, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for operating a methamphetamine lab at his home.
Walls forfeited his public office and his firearms as part of the sentence imposed Friday. He had pleaded guilty last November to manufacturing a controlled dangerous substance and to causing a risk of widespread injury.
The 19-year veteran of the Long Branch Police Department was arrested last May. His lab was discovered when police responded to a domestic disturbance call at Walls’ home on West End Avenue and someone there told officers about it, authorities have said.
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The New Jersey State Police Hazmat Unit located materials, chemicals and instruments consistent with a methamphetamine laboratory in both the basement of the residence and in a shed on the property.
The NJSP Hazmat Unit confirmed that Walls was in possession of all ingredients necessary to manufacture methamphetamine and found methamphetamine residue in chemistry-related glassware on site.
A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office’s Professional Responsibility and Narcotics Units and the Long Branch Police Department revealed that Walls had been in possession of books related to making methamphetamine, explosives, and poison.
Authorities also found an open, unsecured gun safe with two long guns, four handguns, eight high-capacity magazines and ammunition inside. The safe was accessible to a child living in the home, police said.
With the Associated Press