Two men are facing charges of manufacturing methamphetamine following a high-speed chase and a foot pursuit after Morgan County Sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation in Hartselle.

Travis O'Neal Phillips

According to a Sheriff’s Office press release, Sgt. Chris Price and Deputy Perry Shands attempted to stop a 1990 Ford Festivia midday Thursday for a traffic violation on Main Street in Hartselle.  The deputies said the vehicle turned onto I-65 South and fled at a high rate of speed.  The vehicle exited onto Thompson  Road and then onto East Byrd Road.

The vehicle pulled into a wooded area and both occupants fled.  Deputies arrested the driver after a short foot chase.  Deputies later checked the inside of the vehicle and discovered a methamphetamine lab along with a small amount of meth.  Deputies contacted the Morgan County Drug Task Force, which processed the meth lab.

Tracy Dale Borden

Hartselle Police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s tracking dog were called to assist in looking for the other suspect.  The search was called off after about two hours. Later in the evening, a resident called the Sheriff’s Office to report a suspicious person walking along Thompson Road.  When deputies arrived they determined that the suspicious person was the other suspect who fled.

The suspects were decontaminated and transported them to the county jail. Both Travis Oneal Phillips, 48, and Tracy Dale Borden, 41, were charged with unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance first degree.

Hartselle Fire Department and Falkville Volunteer Fire Department assisted in decontaminating the suspects.