This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Seven adults who police say were distributing methamphetamine from a Provo house while children were living there are in jail facing drug and child endangerment charges.
Lt. Phil Murphy with the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force said police served a search warrant on a suspected drug house at 290 W. 500 South in Provo in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
The task force and members of the Provo Police Department found a total of seven adults and nine children inside the house. Murphy said a 60-year-old man and his wife, 50, lived there with their children, some of whom were among the other adults in the house, and their grandchildren. Other adults and children who were not related also were in the house. The nine children ranged in age between 4 and 15 years old.
Murphy said police found small "street amounts" of meth inside the house, in all less than an ounce. There was no evidence that the drug was manufactured inside the house, Murphy said.
The man allegedly admitted to selling small amounts of meth. He was booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute drugs and child endangerment. The six other adults in the house also were arrested on suspicion of drug possession and child endangerment.
Murphy described the situation as "really sad."
"You're subjecting the children to an environment that they don't have a choice to be in," he said.
The children have been put in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services.
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