LEBANON — A Harlan Township man, who escaped charges of manufacturing the stimulant methamphetamine, faces up to 11 years in prison after a jury convicted him Friday of other drug and gun charges in connection with a June 29 raid on a rundown farmhouse.

        Deliberating less than two hours, jurors found Joseph Lester Wiggins, 35, guilty of a single count each of preparing marijuana for sale, illegal use of drug paraphernalia, aggravated possession of drugs and two charges of unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance.

        The verdict came a day after Judge Neal Bronson, acting on a defense lawyer's request, threw out a charge of illegal manufacture of drugs. The judge said there was no hard evidence that Mr. Wiggins and the couple he lived with were cooking up methamphetamine when more than 50 officers raided the property in the 9700 block of Ohio 28.

        That decision could mean the dismissal of similar charges against Lori and Phillip McMullen when they are tried in connection with the case in coming weeks, Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Keith Anderson said Friday.

        “Certainly that risk is there unless I can come up with another strategy,” he said.

        The McMullens also face other charges, including child endangering offenses, because authorities allege the couple's two children were home when drugs were being manufactured and sold.

        Mr. Wiggins, who remains jailed, will return to Warren County Common Pleas Court in about a month for sentencing. Mr. Anderson said he faces at least two to eight years for the possession of methamphetamine because the conviction carries a mandatory prison term.

        Officials with the Warren County Drug Task Force said officers found 57 loaded guns in the trailer where Mr. Wiggins stayed and a pound of marijuana, $4,000 in cash and 33 grams of methamphetamine between the trailer and a farmhouse, where the McMullens resided.

        Hundreds of empty bottles of an over-the-counter sinus medication, beakers, hot plates and other cooking equipment also were confiscated.

        Mr. Wiggins maintained during trial that he was merely a visitor at the property.

        However, an investigator testified that Mr. Wiggins admitted that he provided the sinus medication and Mr. McMullen cooked it down. Mr. Wiggins then traded the substance to a Clermont County man, who finished the process, the officer said.

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