Third Judicial District Judge Donald E. Rysavy has accepted a plea agreement for Troy A. Meyer, 35 of Austin.

In exchange for Meyer's guilty plea to a charge of third degree murder, a felony controlled substance crime, the defendant will be sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison.

Meyer was charged in connection with a methamphetamine lab explosion at a southwest Austin residence in January 2001. James Chilson, 42, died of burn wounds suffered in the explosion.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered first-degree murder charges against Meyer thrown out in the case.

At Wednesday's hearing, both prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed the plea agreement was an appropriate for the case.

Meyer told the court he participated in the preparations for mixing chemicals into methamphetamine drugs on Jan. 12 and 13, 2001, in Austin.

At the time, he was living in a van parked in an alley behind the Chilson home at 1009 11th Ave. SW, where the victim and his girlfriend, Sandy Johnson and her 4-year old son lived.

After listening to Meyer's testimony, Rysavy said he found factual basis and the court was satisfied that Meyer's role matched the third-degree murder charge.

A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered by the judge and Meyer was returned to the Mower County Jail.

Meyer and co-defense attorneys William Wright, Rochester, and Paul Spyhalski, both public defenders, appeared in court Wednesday afternoon before Rysavy.

Mower County Attorney Patrick A. Oman and Steven Schleicher, an Assistant Minnesota Attorney General, are prosecuting the case.

After the hearing, defense attorneys Wright and Spyhalski said the plea agreement was of mutual satisfaction to everyone involved. They said their client risked facing a longer prison sentence if convicted on the multiple charges

Wright said the role of others in the crime is not to be ignored. "It goes deeper," he said.

Oman praised the Minnesota Attorney General's office for sharing attorney Schleicher on the case.

Oman said the plea agreement also helped Mower County avoid another lengthy and expensive criminal trial. "This brings this case to a closure and a finite end. Certainly that's a relief for the community," he said.

The meth lab's discovery was made by accident.

An Austin Police Department officer stopped behind the Chilson-Johnson house to visit a friend. When the occupants of the house saw the officer's car, they panicked and attempted to dump the materials down a basement drain. An explosion occurred and their illegal operation was discovered.

"This was just foolish and stupid from the git-go," Oman said.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com