WASHINGTON, Mo. (KMOX) – Seven local residents are spending the holidays behind bars after police discovered a meth lab of their own creation less than one block from the police station itself.

Chief Ken Hahn of the Washington Police Department told KMOX that the lab was discovered Dec. 22.

“One of my sergeants was on patrol when he smelled what he believed to be the chemical smell of a meth lab,” he said. “He called one of his officers to assist him, and tracked (the smell) right to the apartment…containing individuals we’ve known to have problems before.”

The lab was ultimately found less than a block away from the police station. Hahn guessed the distance from the lab to the precinct to be approximately 100 yards.

The suspects – Danielle Banion, Felicia Dobbs, Kimberly Kammer, Zachary Kammer, Joseph Tamares, Andrew Marcotte, and Michael Oliver – remain in custody and are awaiting trial.

Each has been charged with manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine, a felony in the state of Missouri.

Hahn believes that, while the other suspects are being held on $25,000 bails, Oliver is being held on a $100,000 bail, due, in part, to his past criminal record.

Copyright KMOX Radio