A suspected meth manufacturer is behind bars in Cass County.

34-year-old John Thoendal appeared before a Cass County judge Thursday afternoon.

He is suspected of manufacturing meth from inside his Calvin Township home.

“We received an anonymous tip through the Cass County Drug Enforcement team,” said Cass County Undersheriff Richard Behnke.

For the past three weeks, officers with the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team have been keeping a close eye on his whereabouts.

On Wednesday at the intersection of Guyer Street and Union Road, police made an arrest.

“They pulled the subject over, and found that he had methamphetamine in the vehicle as well as marijuana,” Behnke said.

Officers then searched Thoendal’s home on Brownsville Street.

Inside a pole barn, they found an active one pot meth lab, 12 one pot meth labs, marijuana, and a loaded shot gun.

Several neighbors in the area said meth use has been an ongoing problem here.

“I wasn’t surprised at all, at all,” said Carley Stanton who lives nearby.

Cass County Police said the meth crisis here began in the early 2000s.

An ongoing battle they hope to win, one arrest at a time.

“We’ve been combating it ever since. It’s been a major issue,” Behnke explained.

John Thoendal has been charged with a total of eight felonies.

If convicted he could spend up to 40 years in prison.