Limestone County deputies busted a methamphetamine lab in Elkmont Wednesday night, about a quarter mile from an elementary school, and arrested five county residents, an official said.

Deputies entered a home at 20820 Simpson Road in Elkmont about 8 p.m., just after the men had finished cooking a batch of meth, Lt. Lance Royals said. The house is located about a quarter mile from Owens Elementary School.

“We got a tip that these guys were cooking methamphetamine, so we got a search warrant for the resident,” he said. “When we entered, there were six men and four of them ran out the back door. When they saw Deputy (Matt) Wassum and Deputy (Johnny) Morel in back, they dropped right down, they hit the dirt.”

The following were arrested and charged with first-degree manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia:

• John Thomas Posey, 31, and Robert Martin Posey, 41, both of 20820 Simpson Road; Nicholas Jordan Posey, 23, of 29511 Alabama 99, Lester; Bryan Owen Vincent, 30, of 29560 Alabama 99, Lester; and Christopher Michael Williams, 33, of 20742 Cario Hollow Road, Athens.

One of the six men at the home was not charged, Royals said.

The others remained in the Limestone County Jail Wednesday in lieu of posting $47,000 bond.

Deputies confiscated about 5 grams of methamphetamine, an ounce of marijuana, some precursors that had been cooked recently and some precursors that were left over, Royals said.

“We were mainly there for the lab,” Royals said. “We didn’t know if we would get any finished product, we just got lucky.”

He said the appearance of the so-called “Shake ‘n’ Bake” meth lab has made it more difficult for law-enforcement officers to bust an active lab. The meth is produced in fewer than 30 minutes by putting all the ingredients in one bottle just like you cook a fryer chicken quickly by coating it in a Shake ‘n Bake bag.