TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA — Marine leaders aboard Twentynine Palms are still recovering from Monday's discovery of a methamphetamine laboratory in the office of the base's commanding general.
Maj. Gen. Oscar Mathers is already facing several dozen meth-related charges, as well as improper use of the government vehicle he stole while attempting to flee the scene. Police also arrested Mathers' aide, 2nd Lt. Virgil "Spooge" Chambers, as an accessory.
Maj. Gen. David Berger has been appointed the acting commander of the base while Navy Criminal investigators continue their questioning of Mathers.
First Responders uncovered the lab after responding to what they thought was a routine fire caused by shoddy electrical work. Instead, firefighters discovered several rooms full of equipment commonly-used in the production of meth: ammonia, lye, dozens of crates of cold medicine, six boxes of matches scrounged from MREs, and a Mr. Meth maker in the back room.
