By Staff
NILES – A Niles man, out of jail on probation for drug charges, was arrested Monday for a number of charges related to methamphetimine manufacturing and use.
On Monday at about 5 p.m., the Niles Police Department and Berrien County Sheriffs Narcotics Unit and Road Patrol served a search warrant for narcotics at 1010 Ferry St, Niles.
The Narcotics Unit had received a tip that methamphetamine was being produced at that address and, following further investigation, the Narcotics Unit obtained a search warrant for the residence.
When officers arrived, they found the suspect, Jessie Ray Kruger, 21, in the residence.
There were also five children, ages three months to 16 years old, in the residence, along with their grandmother.
Kruger, who was currently on parole for a previous drug conviction, was arrested and lodged in the Berrien County Jail pending arraignment on the charges listed.
Officers seized meth components and manufacturing equipment from a storage shed in the yard and also found evidence that meth had been manufactured in the basement of the residence.
In accordance with Michigan Dept. of Community Health requirements, Child Protective Services took the children into protective custody and provided a medical exam at the hospital.
The MDCH code also requires the Narcotics Unit to post the residence as uninhabitable.