A weekend jail sentence at the Beaufort County Detention Center became a longer prospect after the makings of methamphetamine were found in one local man’s home.

Sunday, Bradley Keith Thompson was held at the jail after admitting to making meth Friday before he showed up to serve a regular weekend sentence for a past burglary conviction. Thompson’s girlfriend alerted authorities to the volatile mix of chemicals in Thompson’s home.

“She had found some items that were consistent with using meth. We interviewed her then interviewed him here. He admitted to cooking it on Friday before going into jail,” said Lt. Russell Davenport, head of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit.

Sunday night, the scene at the mobile home park off Camp Leach Road was lit brightly by Bath Fire Department trucks — the volunteer squad responded with the drug unit to provide the lighting, assist with the collection of evidence and provide firefighting support, Davenport said. Backup is necessary, as the manufacturing of meth is a highly volatile and potentially explosive process. Outside, agents sifted through bags of garbage, looking for evidence, while Clandestine Lab Agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations and members of the drug unit — all wearing gas masks — did the same inside the mobile home. Investigators removed toxic materials that are commonly used in the one-pot method, commonly known as “shake and bake,” of manufacturing methamphetamines.

“It’s a lengthy process. It’s still dangerous. I’m glad our deputies have had training and can recognize the signs (of meth manufacturing),” Davenport said. “All the local agencies are working together to try to dismantle these meth labs as safely as possible.”

It marked the second meth lab bust in Beaufort County in 2015. Prior to 2014, meth labs were rare in the county, but the drug has since made a steady appearance.

“This just goes to show it’s a growing problem and we’ve got to continue fight it as hard as we can. We were hearing years ago that it was coming — it’s here now,” Davenport said.

Scheduled to be released from the weekend sentence at 7 p.m. Sunday, after the discovery Thompson was held under no bond as decreed by North Carolina law because the manufacture of methamphetamine is considered a public safety/health hazard.