Man denies meth is his, says it's a 'meth neighborhood'

CRESTVIEW – A man explained away a quantity of methamphetamines found at the spot he was hiding from lawmen at as the result of the neighborhood being a “meth neighborhood.”

On June 1 Crestview Police received a call from a Butler Circle resident that 24-year-old Steven Lee Harrell was in the area, that he had a warrant for his arrest, and that he might have narcotics. Dispatch confirmed the warrant and sent officers out looking for Harrell.

He was found hiding behind a shed in the back yard of a house the next street over. As he was being walked to a patrol car, another officer searched the spot where he’d been hiding and found a small piece of aluminum foil folded several times. It had recently been put there as it had just rained and the foil wasn’t wet. Inside was a substance that tested positive for meth.

Harrell denied the meth was his and said the neighborhood was a “meth neighborhood,” the officer wrote in the report.

He was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and has a July 9 court date.