By Colin McEwen
Record-Courier staff writer
After the Kent Police Department responded to a report of an assault at an Athena Drive home Friday morning, a suspected methamphetamine lab was discovered and the home was raided.
The home's lone resident, Kim Blank, 28, was arrested and charged with assault. Portage County Sheriff Duane Kaley said no charges relating to the suspected meth lab have been filed while officials wait for the results of the chemical analysis.
The Kent Police Department refused to comment about the incident, but neighbors said officers responded to the home at 1690 Athena Drive around 9 a.m. Athena Drive is located off Summit Street near the Kent State University campus.
Kaley said deputies were called for a report of assault on an employee of Portage Metropolitan Housing Authority, who was performing maintenance on the home.
"While (officers) were there, what was believed to be a meth lab was discovered and the Portage County Drug Task Force responded," he said.
Neighbors lined the street behind yellow tape and watched members of The Portage County Hazmat team in white and yellow suits file in and out of the house, placing several items from the home on the driveway, including buckets, glass containers and a microwave.
Some neighbors expressed concern about a possible meth lab in their neighborhood because so many of the neighborhood children play near the home.
Janell Ryan has lived on Athena Drive for three years. "It's very scary to know this was going on right across the street," she said. "Especially in a neighborhood full of kids."
Alexis Blankenship, who lives across the street, also found it disturbing that such dangerous chemicals could be so close to her children.
She said she witnessed the events of the day, from Blank's arrest in the morning through the afternoon when law enforcement officials searched the home.
"We thought it must have been serious because of all the fire trucks," she said. "It was always so quiet over there. I never noticed anything going on."
Kaley said the chemicals used in the production can be explosive and dangerous to those who come into contact with them.
He said meth labs are easily transportable and relatively difficult to detect.
"It's not as complicated a process as one might think," Kaley said. "Unfortunately, the recipes for making meth labs are on the Internet, and it's not hard for people in the drug world to become involved in this."
Members of the Portage County Drug Task Force include the Portage County Sheriff's Department, the Portage County Prosecutor's Office and police departments from Ravenna, Kent, Streetsboro, Aurora and Garrettsville. The Brimfield Police Department also responded to the scene.