Bail set at $25,000 for alleged Ecstasy lab operator

Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 16, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

BOULDER - A Boulder County judge set bail at $25,000 Wednesday for a woman charged with running a sophisticated Ecstasy lab out of her south Boulder home, after the woman's lawyer argued that the scientific glassware seized could have been from her catering business.

The Boulder County Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday entered the home of Debra Cerio and seized enough materials and ingredients to make 50,000 to 80,000 doses of the "club drug" popular with college students.

They booked her on allegations of manufacturing illegal drugs, possessing drugs with intent to sell and conspiracy to manufacture drugs.

A man at the house, Carl Dubois, was arrested on the same charges. Dubois' bail was set at $60,000.

But Cerio's attorney, Rich Irvin, argued that she had no record, that she had ties to the community and that the warrant that led to the raid was sketchy on details. He asked for bail of $10,000.

Prosecutors said $25,000 would be more appropriate.

County Judge John Stavely said he thought that $50,000 would be more appropriate, given the apparent size of the operation and the fact that Summit Elementary School was just across the backyard from the home at 720 46th St. But he agreed to the $25,000 figure.

Cerio and Dubois will be formally charged on Friday at 2 p.m. in the courtroom attached to the Boulder County Jail.

Drug Task Force head Steve Prentup said this is the first Ecstasy lab that the task force has broken up.

Ecstasy users report a sense of well-being and gregariousness, but Prentup said that doses of the drug can be extremely dangerous and unpredictable, given that they are often made in home labs.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News