NORTH WEBSTER – A South Whitley teen was tased and arrested early today after police investigating a vehicular crash he was involved in found an active meth lab on the car’s dashboard. Austin Richard Reiff, 18, was arrested on preliminary charges of felony manufacturing methamphetamine and resisting law enforcement, shortly after a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s officer responded to a vehicle crash on Syracuse/Webster Road near Ind. 13 just after 4:30 a.m. Deputy Sheriff Chris Francis arrived to find a vehicle in a ditch, which Reiff reportedly explained occured when he swerved to miss a deer and ran off the roadway, according to the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department. As Reiff was being checked by medics, Francis found an active mobile meth lab in plain view on the dashboard of Reiff’s vehicle, the department said. When Francis approached Reiff, he reportedly ran from the ambulance, the department said. Francis fired a single taser shot at Reiff, dropping the teen. The Kosciusko County Drug Task Force and the Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab Team were called in to process the lab. Reiff is being held in Kosciusko County Jail. He is awaiting a bond setting.
