Man pleads not guilty to meth lab charge

A Wauconda man charged with operating a methamphetamine lab in his apartment pleaded not guilty Friday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Bruce Keener Jr., 29, faces a mandatory prison sentence of six to 30 years if convicted of possession of methamphetamine manufacturing materials.

Assistant State's Attorney Fred Day said Wauconda police were tipped June 29 that Keener was producing the drug in his apartment in the 700 block of Liberty Street.

Along with agents of the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group, police raided the apartment around 7 p.m. that day. Inside they found chemicals and laboratory equipment used to manufacture the drug, and a length of PVC tubing with caps on each end they originally thought was a bomb.

The Waukegan Bomb Squad was called in, and determined the device was not an explosive, Day said.

Because of the volatile nature of the chemicals used to make methamphetamine, officers from the Illinois State Police Methamphetamine Response Team were called in to dismantle the lab.

Residents of the building were evacuated during the raid, and Route 176 in the area of the building was closed for about five hours.

Associate Judge George Bridges told Keener he would normally face a prison sentence of no more than seven years if convicted of the charge. However, Bridges said, Keener faces the more severe sentence because he has two prior convictions for burglary.

Bridges scheduled a trial of the case for Sept. 11. He ordered Keener, who is held on $150,000 bond, to appear in court Aug. 17.