Wisconsin man accused of making meth in gas station restroom

DELAFIELD, Wis. (WITI) -- Gregory Hardin of Pewaukee faces multiple criminal charges for allegedly manufacturing methamphetamines at a gas station in Delafield.

According to the criminal complaint, Delafield police officers were dispatched to a Kwik Trip gas station on Sun Valley Drive on the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 7. The manager at the station reported a “suspicious incident.”

The complaint says Hardin “entered the store and went into a private bathroom for approximately 15 minutes. After the defendant exited the bathroom an employee went into the bathroom and they detected a strong and suspicious chemical odor.” An officer went into the bathroom and secured a trash can which had a strong chemical odor “similar to a combination of kerosene and bleach.”

The trash bag also included “several white paper like objects that appeared to have been rolled tightly and disposed of.” The officer believed there were potentially dangerous chemicals in the bag — and removed the bag from the gas station. A field test later revealed the presence of amphetamines/methamphetamine from the material tested.

The gas station manager indicated to police that Hardin had purchased several items including a single package of coffee filters. Based on his training, the officer “believed the odor and materials used were consistent with an individual manufacturing methamphetamine.” It is apparently referred to as a “shake and bake cook.”

Officers then searched for Hardin and located him riding a bike. When speaking with Hardin, officers noted he “appeared slightly nervous” and had a light bulb bulge upwards from his pocket — it was contained within a rolled up napkin.” Officers noted the bulb may have been some type of smoking pipe. That bulb “did have a black residue on it which is consistent with lighting the bottom of the glass bulb in order to heat up the methamphetamine.”

The complaint indicates officers secured permission to search Hardin's residence. There they located numerous items which are used in the preparation and manufacturing of methamphetamine, the complaint says.

Hardin, 49, faces criminal counts of manufacturing of methamphetamine; recklessly endangering safety; possession of materials for manufacturing methamphetamine; and possession of waste from methamphetamine manufacturing.