A Gwinnett County magistrate determined Thursday that police had enough evidence to support drug trafficking charges against a mother whose three children were killed in a Lilburn house fire fueled by liquid methamphetamine.
Magistrate George F. Hutchinson III forwarded the charges against Neibi Brito, 22, to Gwinnett Superior Court. She has no bond and remains in jail.
Gwinnett County deputies, meanwhile, charged a third person in connection with the Lilburn house fire, Channel 2 Action News said. Joseph Perez was charged with methamphetamine trafficking, Channel 2 said. Perez was inside the home on Spring Mill Drive in Lilburn last week when a fire broke out, deputies told Channel 2.
An undercover police investigator said 4,555 grams of liquid meth was found inside the house in the 1100 block of Spring Mill Drive. Some of the meth was in a utility closet and the rest was in a cooler in the garage. The Feb. 17 fire started in the utility closet, spread down the hallway and into the kitchen, he said.
The investigator said he found a pot on the stove containing a brown substance, which was determined to be liquid meth. At the request of a Gwinnett prosecutor, the AJC is not publishing the undercover investigator's name.
Police are still looking for Ivan Gonzalez, 26, a resident of the Lilburn home. He fled the scene and is charged with murder in connection with the deaths of the three children.
Brito's defense attorney, Samuel Harrison, said Gonzalez was more responsible for the fire than Brito.
"I have no doubt the individual on the run does [have more responsibility for the fire] and he's left her holding the bag," Harrison said. "She's doing as well as can be expected. They've moved her from suicide watch."
But the investigator testified that Brito "knew of the narcotics activities going on at the residence." Her name was on the rental agreement for the house.
Brito was wearing a green jail jumpsuit and her hands were clasped in front of her and she kept her gaze down during the brief session.
The hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday, but the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department agreed to postpone the hearing so Brito could attend the funeral for her children.
“We did escort her to the funeral,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Stacey Bourbonnais told the AJC. “There are times that we do that. It’s on a case-by-case basis.”
Investigators said the children — Isaac Guevara, 4, Ivan Guevara, 3, and 18-month-old Stacy Brito — suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation. They died despite bystanders' attempts to rescue them from the second story of the burning house.
-- Staff writer Ty Tagami contributed to this report.
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