Uriah Bish

A Hilliards man charged with running a methamphetamine laboratory in two cases was sentenced to state prison in Butler County Court on Thursday.

Uriah A. Bish, 25, was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison with 215 days of credit for time served, followed by 54 months of probation, and ordered to pay court costs and $2,500 in fines by Judge William Shaffer.

Bish was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

Bish pleaded guilty on Oct. 5 in two cases to felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine precursors, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, misdemeanor driving under the influence and summary driving on a suspended license.

He also had parole violations in five other cases which were resolved Thursday.

The charges follow two incidents, on March 30 and April 6.

Bish was initially charged with felony possession with intent, possession of methamphetamine precursors, operating a methamphetamine lab, depositing chemical waste, misdemeanor risking a catastrophe and other related charges in the March 30 incident in Venango Township.

He was charged alongside Brittany L. Christy, by Pennsylvania Wildlife Conservation Officers after a methamphetamine lab was discovered on state game lands. The Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Lab Response Team cleaned up and disposed of the chemicals.

Police then hatched a plan to hunt down the unknown meth cooks. At the same site, officers placed a decoy — a garbage bag filled with assorted items to make it look like what the suspects had left behind in their bag.

Next, a hidden trail camera was positioned nearby.

The camera eventually captured images of Bish, police said, returning to the bag “in an attempt to retrieve his loaded one-pot cooks and other methamphetamine making paraphernalia,” the affidavit of probable cause states.

He was also initially charged with felony possession of methamphetamine precursors, fleeing, DUI and related charges after an April 6 incident, where police identified a vehicle belonging to Christy and operated by Bish, and attempted to pull the vehicle over in Center Township.

After a pursuit, which came to end on Hall Road after the vehicle came upon spike strips deployed by police, Bish and Christy were arrested.

Bish admitted to being under the influence of heroin, and inside the vehicle several paraphernalia items, including scales, empty heroin stamp bags, methamphetamine precursors, a marijuana pipe and other items were found.

Christy was previously sentenced to the state Intermediate Punishment Program.