Christopher Michael Rucker & Patricia Nicole Smith

Mother Patricia Nicole Smith, 23, of West Jefferson Pike near Walter Hill, and her boyfriend Christopher Michael Rucker, 34, of Nashville, also were charged with manufacturing methamphetamine by narcotics Detective Sgt. Jerremy Weaver and Detective Travis Robinson.

Weaver said the daughters, ages 2 and 3, “had direct exposure” to the methamphetamine production inside a car near Smith’s home. Smith and her daughters were decontaminated at the scene and at Middle Tennessee Medical Center.

Lt. Egon Grissom said the daughters were playing in and around the car where Rucker allegedly produced the illegal drug. The Department of Children’s Services took temporary custody of the children who were later placed with a relative.

Detectives found evidence of the “shake and bake” method of manufacturing methamphetamine in and around the car, Grissom said.

“The shake and bake method is on the rise,” Grissom said. “We’re seeing more of it. It’s easy. It’s a quick way of making it for personal use.”

Producers make the methamphetamine in a plastic soft drink bottle with ingredients including lithium batteries, muriatic acid and ephedrine found in over-the-counter cold medicines.

“If you have all those ingredients in the same place, it’s basically a clue,” Grissom said. “How many people keep muriatic acid with cold medicine?”

The investigation began after narcotics detectives received information about methamphetamine production at Smith’s home. When Weaver and Robinson approached the car, Rucker put his “hands in the air and said, ‘you got me,’” Grissom said.

Detectives found the illegal drugs being made in the car.

“It was in the cooking stage,” Grissom said.

Detectives learned the process probably would yield about three to four grams of methamphetamine valued at about $300 to $500.

Smith and Rucker were charged. They are being held in Rutherford County Adult Detention Center. They were scheduled to be in General Sessions Court Thrusday.