News

Garage owner charged with pot, making potent THC

By Bill Moss, Published: July 2, 2016

The owner of the Grease Monkey Garage at 147A 1st Avenue East in Hendersonville was charged with multiple felony counts after Henderson County sheriff's deputies executed a search warrant at the business on Thursday.

Detectives seized about 19 ounces of marijuana in multiple packages and drug paraphernalia and seized components for a Honey Oil conversion lab. Honey Oil, also known as Butane Hash Oil (BHO), is a very concentrated form of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active ingredient of marijuana. It is illegally manufactured using a very dangerous process involving releasing butane, a highly flammable gas. There have been numerous reports of explosions, deaths and severe burns across the country from BHO manufacturing.

Business owner Eric Patrick Carter, 38 of Brightwater Heights Drive, was charged with Possession with Intent to Manufacture, Sell or Deliver Schedule VI Controlled Substances, Manufacturing Marijuana, Maintaining A Vehicle, Dwelling Or Place For Controlled Substances and Possession Of Marijuana Paraphernalia. He was released on a $7,000 secured bond. Anyone wishing to report suspicious or criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 828-697-4596.

The Sheriff’s Office warned that anyone trying to manufacture BHO is not only running the risk of criminal prosecution but also taking their life or the lives of others into their own hands. The danger posed by fire and explosions involving butane extends beyond the clandestine lab itself. It can cause damage and destruction to neighboring properties and residents that may live there. This was the first occasion found by law enforcement of BHO manufacture in Henderson County in recent years.