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Accused MT meth lab partners charged with 2nd offense while free on bail

Posted at 9:00 AM, Oct 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-23 11:00:34-04

BOZEMAN – A man and woman charged in June for manufacturing methamphetamine now face further charges for allegedly running another lab at the Four Corners Fishing Access site.

Jessica Coombs
Jessica Coombs (MTN News photo)

Jessica Coombs, 37, and Earl William Jimerson, 53, were arrested on Sunday and charged with operation of an unlawful clandestine laboratory. Both were free on bail after being charged in June for allegedly running another lab at the East Gallatin/Cherry River fishing access site.

According to court documents, a Gallatin County sheriff’s deputy responded to a call around 9 a.m. Sunday from a man who reported finding a meth lab while hunting near the Four Corners site. The man said he was a retired firefighter and knew the items he found were used to cook meth. The man also reported seeing two people in a brown blazer litter garbage near the site where he located the lab.

The deputy located Coombs and Jimerson parked inside the fishing access site and approached them while they were in the vehicle. They both appeared extremely nervous, according to the deputy, and denied using meth. They identified themselves to the deputy, who learned of their past drug offender history from dispatch.

Earl William Jimerson
Earl William Jimerson (MTN News photo)

More officers arrived as the deputy retrieved the suspected lab materials, including a white 5-gallon bucket that contained suspected materials used to manufacture meth.

Court documents state that the Missouri River Drug Task Force (MRDTF) arrived on scene and confirmed the materials found were used to make meth via the “one-pot method”. The MRDTF detective also immediately identified Coombs and Jimerson.

According to the responding deputy, the MRDTF detective explained that Coombs and Jimerson have a history of setting up clandestine labs at fishing access sites. The deputy arrested the pair and transferred them to the Gallatin County Detention Center.

In Justice Court on Monday, Judge Bryan Adams set Jimerson’s bail at $200,000, Coombs at $150,000. They are to have no contact with each other, and each must wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and submit to random testing for drugs and alcohol.

The next District Court trial date for both Jimerson and Coombs is set for November 16.