Photo by LCSO Alyssa Deibert

Photo by LCSO Charles Lynch

A 24-year-old mother of two who started a fire while trying to cook methamphetamine in her home was sentenced to three years probation Monday.

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Alyssa N. Deibert, 24, was sentenced after pleading guilty to an amended charge of possession of methamphetamine. She was also ordered to attend Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous, have no contact with her former live-in boyfriend and pay monthly restitution to the North Platte Housing Authority for the damages.

Deibert and her live-in boyfriend Justin Chilcott, 28, were originally charged with manufacture of methamphetamine and manufacture of meth near a school.

Chilcott was sentenced in Nov., 2008, to from 2 to 6 years in prison for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture meth.

The home, at 1616 N. Jackson, is located next to Madison Middle School.

Deibert and Chilcott were arrested after fleeing the home with the two kids when it caught on fire.

Deibert’s children, a 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, were removed from the home under a juvenile petition.

Firefighters discovered a meth lab in Deibert’s and Chilcott’s home April 28, 2008, while battling a fire there.

Firefighters were called to the home at 11:30 p.m. by neighbors. The kitchen was engulfed in flames. Neighbors reported seeing the occupants run from the house just before the fire.

As firefighters battled the blaze in the kitchen, they discovered a meth lab, according to investigators. They called the police.

North Platte police Lt. Rick Ryan said investigators from the North Platte police and Drug Enforcement Agency investigated the lab and discovered meth in the house along with rock salt, a gas generator, drain cleaner, Coleman fuel, coffee filters with residue and a piece of glass with residue which field-tested positive for meth. All of these items are precursors for the manufacturing of meth, investigators said.

During the search of the house, investigators also located a cell phone. Text messages on the phone indicated that earlier that day Deibert was looking for someone who could watch her children while she and Chilcott attempted to cook meth, investigators said.

The text messages also mentioned that Deibert and Chilcott were having difficulties getting the manufacturing process to work, investigators said. The messages also indicated that the persons being text messaged were interested in purchasing the meth as soon as it was made.

Ryan said investigators knew the house was a drug house and had recently conducted a “knock and talk,” where officers knock on the door and question the occupants. He said they had recently arrested Chilcott for possession of marijuana and a warrant for possession of meth.

Deibert was fired from her job just before the fire, according to an affidavit. The affidavit said she reported to work a nursing home and appeared to be under the influence. Deibert was taken to Great Plains Regional Medical Center where a drug test was positive for the use of meth and she was fired from her job as a Certified Nursing Aid then.

The rental house is owned by the North Platte Housing Authority and is designated as low-income housing.

Lewis said the house suffered heat and smoke damage in the kitchen and smoke damage throughout.

In other court action:

• Thomas Kawamura was sentenced to three years intensive supervised probation for burglary and theft. He is accused of breaking into a home at 821 Clearwater Court and breaking the patio door and windows throughout. He was also accused of breaking into a car May 19, 2008, and stealing a camera, cell phone and digital radio.

Lincoln County District Judge John Murphy also sentenced Kawamura to the Work Ethic Camp in McCook, to get his GED, seek counseling and 120 days in the Lincoln County Jail, suspended upon the successful completion of his probationary term.

• Vance M. Perez was fined $100 plus court costs and given 90 days in the Lincoln County Jail for attempted distribution of marijuana. He was given credit for time spent in jail. Perez was accused of selling an undercover informant a bag of marijuana for $60. The informant was working with the Nebraska State Patrol.

• Charles W. Lynch, 37, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine in a plea agreement with prosecutors. He will be sentenced June 15.

In exchange for the plea, charges of manufacturing methamphetamine were dismissed.

Lynch was arrested in November 2007 after a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy caught him with the items used to manufacture meth in his car.

The deputy, cruising an isolated area near the North Platte River, stopped and made contact with Lynch. The deputy noticed a strong smell of ether in the car – a chemical normally used to manufacture meth. The deputy also noticed plastic tubing on the front seat of Lynch’s car and liquid anhydrous ammonia spilling out of the pickup box.

The deputy, becoming suspicious, ordered Lynch out of the car and continued the search. He then discovered two Energizer AA Lithium batteries on the ground behind the pickup. The deputy also discovered a bottle which had contained liquid anhydrous ammonia, another bottle which contained white gas and less than one ounce of marijuana.

Lithium, white gas, anhydrous ammonia, ether and plastic tubing, in combination, are used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The deputy’s suspicion’s deepened.

The deputy then called the North Platte Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration to assist with the investigation.

He also called a cleanup and a hazardous materials team in from Lincoln. The estimate on the cleanup operation was between $4,000.00 and $6,000.00.