Online records offer a glimpse at the lifestyle of a man accused of operating a meth lab in the garage of his $500,000 home.
Craig Phillip Wiles, 40, was arrested after Tri-Cities drug agents raided his home two weeks ago and reported finding chemicals and equipment used to make methamphetamine, a highly-addictive stimulant.
The Tri-Cities Metro Drug Task Force was tipped off in July about the lab by a confidential source, whose identity was kept hidden for their safety.
Police say they found chemicals and equipment used to make meth during the July 26 search. The bust came after about a month of investigating in the quiet neighborhood near Hawthorne Elementary School, said officials.
Public records show Wiles paid $425,000 in 2021 to buy the three-bedroom home with an in-ground swimming pool, hot tub and indoor cedar sauna at 803 N. Quillan St.
The real estate website Zillow estimates the 2,600-square-foot home is worth more than $530,000.
Wiles is charged in Benton County Superior Court with manufacturing meth and is currently being held in jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.
Court records are light on details about the suspected methamphetamine manufacturing operation inside the cluttered two-car garage.
The confidential source claimed Wiles spent several hours inside his garage with chemistry equipment and several different types of solvents and solutions.
"The complaint advised that there was a strong odor coming from the garage and was described as ether," said the court document.
Making or "cooking" meth as portraying in the crime TV drama "Breaking Bad" is dangerous because of the poisonous, flammable and explosive chemicals involved.
The task force with help of the Tri-Cities Regional SWAT team and the Washington State Patrol Clandestine Lab Team served a search warrant on the home at 8:15 a.m. on July 26.
The WSP team said they discovered equipment "consistent with the manufacturing of methamphetamine."
Detectives also found red phosphorous, which is used in manufacturing meth, at the home, according to court documents.
Wiles denied using the equipment to make methamphetamine, said police. He said he was using it to strip metals from a catalytic converter.
Public records show Wiles has a history of mostly misdemeanors, but had stayed out of trouble for the past seven years.
His most recent conviction came in 2016 when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to three days in jail.
Wiles was living in Prosser at the time and was accused of chasing his wife and another man in his Ford pickup one night in September 2016. According to court documents, he spotted her and the man in the Mabton area and began following them.
The chase reached speeds of 80 mph and he was accused of trying to force her SUV off the road. She also heard two gunshots and deputies found a loaded pistol in his truck, according to court documents.
He had a conviction in 2001 for first-degree theft, which prevented him from owning a gun.
