Police find 'rare' meth lab at home in Fayetteville neighborhood

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Authorities have charged a man after police say they found what they called a "rare" drug lab at a home in a Fayetteville neighborhood Wednesday night.

Police went to the house in the 2000 block of Ireland Drive near Madison Avenue around 10 p.m. after receiving a tip from a 911 caller that methamphetamine was being made in the home - which is near a church and an elementary school.

When officers arrived, they found 18-year-old Julius Kristofer Wickert at the scene. He's now charged with possessing a methamphetamine precursor chemical (3 counts), manufacturing methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Fayetteville police told ABC11 that it is rare to find a meth lab within city limits. The home is located just feet away from the Cumberland County line.

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"We had one of these before but it's been well over a year, I want to say two, or three," Sgt. Shawn Strepay with the Fayetteville Police Department said.

The Fayetteville Fire Department Hazmat Team, as well as the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Clandestine Laboratory Response Team, are assisting investigators with the Fayetteville Police Department and the SBI.

Police closed Ireland Drive between Atlantic Avenue and Glenridge Road briefly overnight as part of the investigation.