Authorities evacuated 16 homes in McKees Rocks yesterday while a clandestine-laboratory team from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration dismantled a methamphetamine lab found in a garage.

Three people also were arrested after District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.'s Narcotics Enforcement Team and other agencies served a search warrant Friday at 200 Clever Ave. Investigators had developed information that methamphetamine was being manufactured there, said Mike Manko, Zappala's spokesman.

When investigators discovered glass jars, chemicals and other evidence of a lab in a detached garage, they summoned the DEA team from New York to dismantle the lab, Manko said. They also ordered residents to leave nearby homes because chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine can be explosive.

The lab was capable of manufacturing two ounces of methamphetamine at a time, which Manko termed "a significant amount." Investigators also seized white powder that is believed to be methamphetamine, more than 30 marijuana plants growing in the basement, two guns, cash and vehicles, Manko said.

Investigators arrested David A. McClelland, 29, who lives at the house, and Jessica June Dramble, 22, of Bellevue, who told authorities she used to live there. Later that night, they arrested Richie D. Post, 32, at his home on the South Side, where they seized more suspected methamphetamine and marijuana.

They were charged with four counts of possession with intent to deliver or manufacture drugs and two counts of drug possession. McClelland and Dramble also were charged with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

They were arraigned in Night Court and jailed on $5,000 straight bond. Their preliminary hearings are set for Nov. 23.

First Published: November 14, 2004, 5:00 a.m.