POINT PLEASANT — A charge of operating a clandestine lab was dismissed prior to a preliminary hearing in Mason County Magistrate Court Monday.

David Myers, 48, of Point Pleasant, was arrested March 20 along with Troy Mcqueen, 40, of Ashton, James L. Smith Jr., 32, of Apple Grove, and Kimberly L. Kirk, 22, of Bidwell, Ohio, for allegedly operating a clandestine lab in a trailer park in Apple Grove. Deputies had received information about one of the labs, and their investigation led to the discovery of another one in the same neighborhood.

Smith and Kirk also were charged with exposure of children to methamphetamine manufacturing.

Myers was present for his preliminary hearing when Prosecuting Attorney Damon Morgan asked that the charge against Myers be dismissed. He appeared before Magistrate Gail Roush, who granted the state’s motion.

According to West Virginia statute, although the charge has been dismissed in magistrate court, it still can be presented to a grand jury at a later date.

Smith and Kirk waived their preliminary hearings March 30, with their cases being bound to the circuit court. A preliminary hearing for Mcqueen has been continued.

A preliminary hearing for another man who was arrested for malicious wounding and wanton endangerment was waived by the defendant.

Gregory A. Messer, 47, of Dailey, was arrested March 16 on a warrant for an incident that happened Jan. 20. Messer allegedly struck his girlfriend with a handgun after firing the gun multiple times at various objects.

His case has been bound to the circuit court.

Two men who were arrested with three others during a routine traffic stop for possession of a controlled substance entered guilty pleas to simple possession during their preliminary hearings.

Nathan D. Petrie, 19, and Eddie Wayne Hunter, 22, both of Point Pleasant, agreed to plea guilty for possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. They were arrested March 26 along with Cassy Lynn Hunter, 21, and Robert Allen Jordan, 19, both of Leon, and Terry L. Roberts, 18, of Gallipolis, Ohio.

Petrie and Hunter faced a sentence of up to six months in the Western Regional Jail. Roush gave them a suspended sentence of 90 days in jail for one year of probation.