Photos: Troy Marlowe and Stacey Marlowe
A Midway couple appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and entered not guilty pleas to charges of manufacturing methamphetamine at their home.
Troy and Stacy Marlowe, both 48 years old, were alleged to be using a faster, easier way of making the drug, dubbed the “shake-and-bake” method.
Investigators say the “one-pot” method, which has been around for a number of years, only requires a 2-liter soda bottle, a few cold pills and common but harmful household chemicals.
The concoction is shaken together and — if the bottle is handled correctly so it doesn’t explode or catch fire — enough meth will be produced for the user to get a few hits.
Older meth labs required hundreds of pseudoephedrine pills, containers heated over open flames and cans of flammable liquids. The cooking process created foul odors making the labs difficult to hide.
In the case of the Marlowes, the equipment utilized to make meth using the “shake and bake” method was allegedly found in an attached garage/work shed area. Drugs and drug paraphernalia were also found in the residence.
Both Troy and Stacy Marlowe were arrested and taken to the Baxter County Detention Center. Troy Marlowe’s bond was set at $100,000 and Stacy Marlowe’s bond at $30,000.
Stacy Marlowe is free on bond. Tony Marlowe remains incarcerated.
Another case has been filed against Troy Marlowe stemming from a traffic stop early this month. When he was pulled over by an Arkansas State Police trooper, Troy Marlowe was alleged to have had drugs and drug paraphernalia on his person.
Marlowe was also charged with resisting arrest and tampering with evidence. The tampering charge resulted from Marlowe allegedly trying to swallow a small plastic container holding what was identified as a white powdery substance. The trooper was able to make Marlowe spit the item out.
Marlowe had to be taken to the ground during the arrest, according to the probable cause affidavit. He has also pled not guilty to the charges stemming from the traffic stop. His wife, Stacy, was not involved in that arrest.
The two new charges against Troy Marlowe triggered the filing of a petition to revoke his suspended sentence on earlier drug charges. He was convicted of possessing drugs and was placed on six years probation in October last year. He pled “not true” to the allegations in the revocation petition during his court appearance Thursday.
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