'Breaking Bad' is Over, But Meth's Story Continues in Area

By Daryl Nerl

Walter White may have ended his run as a meth producer on the popular television series "Breaking Bad" Sunday night, but in Bethlehem and other communities—including the nearby Saucon Valley—true life stories related to the drug's manufacture continue to play out.

Two days before a high-profile case involving the meth lab explosion that rocked the city's Greenleaf Street in March came to a close in court, Bethlehem Township police arrested another alleged meth maker working out of a shed behind a Sixth Street home.

Davina Bowler, 39, of Palmer Township—the last defendant from the Greenleaf Street explosion—pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of possessing ephedrine in Northampton County Court on Friday and was sentenced to six months of probation, according to The Morning Call.

The cases have been closed on Bowler’s three co-defendants, with 40-year-old Daniel J. Houser taking the brunt of the punishment—a 4½ to 11-year prison sentence handed down in July.

Houser claimed after one hearing that he acted alone in cooking meth at 1965 Greenleaf St., which is in the city’s northeast neighborhood.

Nonetheless, co-conspirator Jeffrey Caulfield, 29, got a one-to-two year prison sentence and homeowner Elaine Noone, 65, also pleaded guilty to possession of ephedrine and is serving three months of probation, according to the newspaper.

The explosion and fire, which resulted in six injuries, happened about three hours before police had planned to conduct a drug raid there. The home had been a target of a city and township police investigation of local meth trade.

Two days before Bowler’s guilty plea, township police raided a shed behind 1450 Sixth St., where they allege Thomas Stocker, 31, has been cooking meth. Stocker told police he has also been living inside the shed.

Police also arrested 51-year-old Dawn Marie Stocker, 51, who lives inside the Sixth Street home.

In another high-profile case, Anthony “Skinny” Serratore of Bethlehem was sentenced in May to five to 10 years in prison for being one of the leaders of a Valley-wide meth ring that distributed as much as a pound of meth every week, a quantity with a street value of $90,000.

Gary Kuehner, 32, of Bethlehem was charged in April with being a leader of a meth ring that stretched from Mexico to the Lehigh Valley and allegedly distributed $7 million worth of drugs over the past five years.

Although there have not been any meth-related explosions to date, there have been several recent arrests of individuals accused of making meth in Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township.

Photo: The front window of 1965 Greenleaf Street was blown out after a basement meth lab exploded there in March. (Patch File Photo)