Philadelphia man charged with operating meth lab in Center City hotel room

Mathew Phillip Sinson, 27, is charged with Possession of Narcotics With Intent to Deliver / Distribute, Possession of Narcotics With Intent to Manufacture
Mathew Phillip Sinson, 27, is charged with Possession of Narcotics With Intent to Deliver / Distribute, Possession of Narcotics With Intent to Manufacture
By Jan Hefler, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: July 31, 2012

A 27-year-old Philadelphia man was arrested over the weekend and charged with operating an illegal portable methamphetamine lab in a Center City hotel that forced an early-morning evacuation of more 300 guests.

Mathew Phillip Sinson, of the 300 block of North 12th Street, was charged with manufacturing and possessing $70,840 worth of illegal drugs at the Hampton Inn with the intent to distribute. He had rented a third-floor room in the hotel, at 13th and Race Streets.

Police arrested him at his home after reviewing footage from the hotel video surveillance cameras. A second suspect had not yet been found.

More than 1,000 grams of methamphetamine and various manufacturing paraphernalia were confiscated from the room, including funnels, containers, and grinding equipment, police said.

The meth lab was discovered around 5:30 a.m. Saturday when fumes triggered a smoke detector, police said. Firefighters and the Police Department's Homeland Security and Terrorism unit responded. Guests were taken to the nearby Convention Center during the preliminary investigation but returned later that morning, police said.

Police said investigators found volatile chemicals and equipment used in the "one-pot," or "shake-and-bake," method of producing methamphetamine.

Police said some hotel guests were firefighters in town for the convention of the International Association of Firefighters.

Contact Jan Hefler at 856-779-3224, jhefler@phillynews.com or follow @JanHefler on Twitter. Read her blog at www.philly.com/BurlcoBuzz.

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