Methamphetamine Cooking Items Found in Car
It is rare that a whole family faces charges for a crime. But in this case, the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office has brought methamphetamine charges against a husband and wife and their 18-year-old step-daughter. Although whose daughter she is, or how she ties into the family, hasn’t been revealed.
51-year-old Henry Kleeves, his wife, 36-year-old Kristi Kleeves, and 18-year-old Heaven McQueen, their step-daughter, were pulled over by Walker Police Officers just south of Alpine Avenue. The officers noticed needles, pills, a scale, and packaging material inside the vehicle and conducted a full search.
In addition to the gram of meth officers found inside a pack of cigarettes in the vehicle, they also discovered a number of items in the trunk used for cooking meth. Officers found a bag containing lye, drain opener, lithium batteries, coleman fuel, and plastic tubing. All of these items are used in the production of methamphetamine.
According to police, Henry admitted to officers that he had used the cooking items to manufacture meth the previous day at the family’s home in Chase. Both Kristi and McQueen also admitted to purchasing items, including pseudo-ephedrine pills, for Henry to use in methamphetamine production. McQueen also told officers that she occasionally stole things alongside her meth related purchases. In Kristi’s testimony she admitted that Henry cooked meth for her to use, and also to trade for heroin, which is her drug of choice.
All three were arrested and transported to the Kent County Jail. All three have been charged with operating/maintaining a meth lab, and delivery/manufacture of methamphetamine. Under Michigan laws these are felonies, and each one is punishable by up to twenty years in prison. But for Henry and Kristi Kleeves, their criminal histories mean that they could be charged as habitual offenders, which could in turn mean longer prison sentences.
The Kleeves couple and McQueen all appeared in the 59th District Court in Walker and waived their probable cause hearings. All three have now been bound over for trial and will appear next in the Kent County Circuit Court.
Since their arrests, Kristi has paid bond and been released from jail, however Henry and McQueen have not. With regards to McQueen, the Judge ordered that she may only be released if she goes home with her grandmother.