SPRINGDALE — What was first thought to be a methamphetamine lab turned out to be a little more old school.
Springdale police found a still making moonshine when they were called about a trespassing incident at 11104 Highland Ave. on June 15. Wednesday, police arrested Phillip Lambert, 46, of 1104 Highland Ave. in connection with felony manufacture, possession or transportation of illicit liquors and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Lambert was scheduled to be taken Wednesday to the Washington County Detention Center to await a bond hearing.
Lt. Derek Hudson said moonshining is rare in Springdale.
At A Glance
Moonshine
Moonshine got its name because it was normally distilled at night “by the light of the moon.”
Source: Staff Report
Source: The Urban Dictionary
“I can’t tell you when the last arrest was for making moonshine,” Hudson said. “Certainly not while I’ve been with the department.”
Hudson, public information officer, has been with the department since 1998.
The still was found after the property owner, Larry Gibson, went to the house looking for his renter. He hadn't been able to contact the man for three weeks, Gibson said.
When Gibson went to the house, a man he didn’t know tried to stop him from entering, Gibson said. When he went inside, the man at the door and the renter ran out the back, Gibson said.
Gibson said he spotted a propane tank connected to a burner heating a tub filled with liquid. He said he told a man and woman still in the house he was calling the police, and the pair fled.
The first officers to arrive thought the still was a meth lab, Gibson said, but a sergeant recognized it as a still.
The Springdale Nuisance Abatement Partnership team looked at the house last week with a drug expert, said Capt. Richard Farris, head of the department’s Criminal Investigation Division. The expert confirmed the setup was not a lab.
After obtaining a warrant Monday, the equipment was confiscated as evidence, Farris said.
Gibson served an eviction notice to his renter, he said.
An officer talked to the still owner on the telephone, Farris said, but hadn't interviewed him in person.
“He may have thought it was legal, like making beer at home,” Farris said. “It’s not the same.”
Moonshine is a distilled liquor with a high alcohol content, according to the website How Stuff Works. Beer is a drink with a lower alcohol content, made by brewing and fermenting grains, according to the website.
The manufacture, distribution or transportation of illicit distilled liquor is a Class D felony, said Ernest Cate, city attorney. The punishment can be up to six years in jail and up to $10,000 in fines, he said.