Athletic director charged with manufacturing meth

Mitch Warmbrodt, 46, of Appleton City was arrested Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at the Butler High School and charged with purchasing an excessive amount of cold medication containing a controlled substance, pseudoephedrine. Warmbrodt is the athletic director at Butler R-V.

He was arrested by Bates County deputies on a Vernon County warrant and brought to the Bates County Jail. While the investigation was going on in regard to the purchase of the medication, authorities discovered a meth lab in a barn near Warmbrodt’s home in rural Appleton City, where he lives with his wife, a principal at a school near Appleton City, and their two children.

Later that day, 51 year old Michael Schooley was arrested on a Vernon County warrant for purchasing an excessive amount of ephedrine. Schooley was arrested at the Warmbrodt residence, where he was found dismantling a meth lab. According to the Bates County Sheriff’s Department, both Schooley and Warmbrodt have been charged with manufacturing methamphetamines. Warmbrodt’s wife has not been charged in connection with the purchases or with the lab.