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https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/gene...ng-evacuations


Drug lab explodes near Pasadena, injuring one and causing evacuations

By Ruby Gonzales, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
POSTED: 04/03/17, 2:02 PM PDT | UPDATED: 5 DAYS AGO

A man suffered burns to his face and hands when a drug lab in a shed exploded Sunday night, authorities said.

Detective Scott Schulze of L.A. IMPACT, a multi-agency task force focused on dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, said the man has not been arrested and was in a burn ward at a hospital. He didn’t know the man’s current condition.

Schulze said the drug task force found marijuana, two firearms, hash oil and solvents at the scene.

The hash oil lab was discovered in the 1900 block of East Washington Boulevard, which is in the unincorporated county area near Pasadena.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Keith Mora said firefighters received a call about a possible explosion with a fire at 9:04 p.m. He said firefighters found a small fire in a shed and put it out in about five minutes.

Firefighters also found multiple empty butane tanks at the location.

He said nearby residents were evacuated.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Mora.

Schulze said the injured man lives at the location. The detective didn’t know if the man drove himself to the hospital or if someone else took him there.

The investigation is ongoing.

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https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/lo...topol-hash-oil


Deputies investigate Sebastopol hash oil lab explosion

PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | April 20, 2017, 7:55AM

Authorities are investigating a New Hampshire man they believe is at the center of a Sebastopol hash oil fire that caused an explosion, revealing thousands of marijuana plants, other drugs and cash.

The fire was reported about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 4900 block of Hessel Road.

A neighbor said he heard gunshots or an explosion and then someone yelling for help, saying he was on fire, sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

Firefighters arrived to find major damage to the rented home, marijuana gardens and a butane honey oil lab, Crum said.

It was determined the resident, identified as Nicholas Fusco, 28, had been refining the oil in the kitchen while cooking something and caused the fire, the sergeant said.

Fusco’s friend told detectives Fusco was injured but bandaged himself without going to a hospital. The friend said Fusco was not willing to cooperate with investigators, Crum said.

He has not been located.

[SkyHighLer]

https://www.kptv.com/story/35247588/b...-oil-explosion


Beaverton man facing several charges after hash oil explosion

Posted: Apr 25, 2017 6:25 PM PDT
Updated: Apr 25, 2017 6:41 PM PDT
By Jamie Wilson

BEAVERTON, OR (KPTV) - A Beaverton man is facing criminal charges after police say he blew up his garage while cooking hash oil.

The hash oil explosion happened at 9 p.m. Monday on Southwest Bonnie Brae Street at 37-year-old Zachary Silva-Barrett’s house.

Ken McCoy lives right next door and heard the explosion.

“I’m sitting downstairs and I hear a big bang,” said McCoy. “One of the gentlemen down here was actually running by when the house blew and he said there was a big ball of fire and lifted the roof right off of the house.“

Silva-Barrett was inside the garage when it happened and amazingly only suffered some minor burns. Police say he told officials he was trying to light his gas water heater when it explode. But investigators say they found 120 pounds of finely cut marijuana, 13 butane gas canisters and other items used to make hash oil.

A woman and seven children were inside the home at the time, and neighbor Nancy Mitchell says she ran outside and saw the children crying.

Mitchell says she had no idea something potentially dangerous was going on in the home.

“I was really concerned,” said Mitchell. “I am concerned about those children.”

Recreational marijuana may be legal in Oregon now, but police say cooking hash oil in a non-licensed facility - not to mention a small garage near several homes - is definitely not legal.

Police say Silva-Barrett is lucky to be alive and McCoy agrees.

“If he was inside, I don’t know how he walked out with just a few burns. So, it’s incredible," said McCoy.

Silva-Barrett is facing several charges of reckless endangerment, unlawful manufacturing, and a crime called arson incident to manufacture. It’s a new law created specifically to address hash oil labs.

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https://www.kesq.com/news/crime/two-m...oded/386569653


Two men face federal charges for allegedly operating a "honey oil" lab that exploded
By: Jesus Reyes
Posted: Mar 09, 2017 07:44 PM PST
Updated: Mar 10, 2017 12:59 AM PST

CHERRY VALLEY, Calif. - Two men are facing federal charges for allegedly operating a "honey oil" lab that exploded in Cherry Valley on February 19th. One man is in custody, while the other remains at large.

34-year old San Jacinto resident Hector Gallegos surrendered to authorities yesterday after being released from the hospital. Gallegos made his initial court appearance. Police are still looking for the other suspect, 34-year old Cherry Valley resident James Ray Wallis III.

Authorities soon learned that Wallis lived at the residence and was seen by neighbors soon after the fire erupted. Wallis' 10-year-old child was inside the house when the explosion occurred, but the child was not harmed by the explosion or subsequent fire.

The two defendants were named in a criminal complaint filed last Friday that charges both men with endangering human life while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance, a federal felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Wallis and Gallegos allegedly operated a clandestine laboratory where they used butane to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from marijuana. The resulting product is commonly called honey oil or hash oil, and it contains a much higher percentage of THC than found in traditional marijuana products.

The explosion happened early in the morning on February 16th. Riverside County fire officials were summoned to a house fire on Dutton Street in Cherry Valley, just north of Beaumont. CAL FIRE officials were unable to combat the fire immediately because several 20-ounce butane canisters - which are commonly used in THC extraction labs - were exploding inside the residence, according to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint.

After the fire was extinguished, Riverside County Sheriff's Department officials searched the property and "discovered several black plastic bins containing marijuana, over 1,000 20-ounce butane canisters, extracted THC spread out on wax paper sheets and contained within six small glass jars, a small indoor marijuana grow located in the basement of the residence, a partially burned PVC extraction tube loaded with marijuana, two handguns and three rifles," according to the complaint.

"Using butane to extract the psychoactive agent in marijuana is not only illegal - it is an extremely dangerous process," said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. "One of the defendants, in this case, was seriously injured and a small child barely escaped injury. Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in the number of explosions at household laboratories, which endangers neighborhoods, as well as first responders."

Wallis fled the scene after the fire, and he remains a fugitive. Gallegos, who also fled the scene after the explosion, was discovered later in the day at Loma Linda Hospital. Gallegos had suffered third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body. Gallegos recently was released from the hospital, and he surrendered himself yesterday.

"As evidenced in this case, clandestine drug manufacturing labs are extremely hazardous and pose a serious threat of bodily injury - or even death - to would-be operators, as well as innocent bystanders," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer. "Fortunately, the child was unharmed and the individuals who put themselves and the entire neighborhood at risk have been removed from the community."

At his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in United States District Court, Gallegos was freed on a $50,000 bond and was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on March 29 and an arraignment on April 5.

The investigation into the clandestine lab was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Special Investigation Bureau, Marijuana Enforcement Team.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tritia L. Yuen of the Riverside Branch Office.

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https://amp.oregonlive.com/v1/article...hash_oil_e.amp


Pair tied to butane hash oil explosion in Astoria accused of assault

Updated on May 05, 2017 at 04:57 PM PDT

Two men involved in a butane-related explosion in Astoria last fall were arraigned Friday in Clatsop County Court on felony assault charges, including one that comes with a mandatory 70-month sentence upon conviction.

William "Chris" West, 41, and Jason Oei, 44,, were each indicted in April by a Clatsop County grand jury on second- and third-degree assault and four counts of recklessly endangering another person. Second-degree assault is a crime on the state's Measure 11 mandatory sentencing list.

Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis said the case was not "a drug prosecution."

"This is not a case about marijuana," said Marquis, an outspoken opponent of the 2014 ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana. "It's a case of an industrial explosion that should not have happened."

West and Oei were making butane hash oil for their business, Higher Level Concentrates, when the space filled with the flammable gas and exploded. At the time of the blast, the company was on a state-approved list to process marijuana for the medical market.

A construction worker, Jacob Magley, 34, was working in the building when the blast occurred. He spent a month in a Portland burn unit recovering from his injuries.

Magley has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging unsafe workplace violations. He claims that Oei consumed cannabis oil in a technique called "dabbing" while West handled butane, a highly volatile gas. Magley alleges Oei's dabbing caused the explosion, which rocked the building on Oct. 19. West, too, was injured in the blast.

Calls to attorneys for both men weren't immediately returned Friday. West and Oei pleaded not guilty in court.

They had submitted an application to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission for recreational marijuana processor and production licenses, but a spokesman said the applications have been "inactivated" due to a lack of activity.

Oregon OSHA last month fined their business $5,300 for a series of workplace safety violations. The business was cited for failing to ventilate the building, failing to have an adequate electrical system and failing to obtain city permits.

OSHA records show employees used an "open loop" system to manufacture hash oil. Those systems are considered extremely dangerous because butane can quickly fill a space and a spark from something as ordinary as a pilot light can ignite a fireball.

According to the state's report, fire officials found between 200 to 300 punctured canisters of butane at the scene of the blast.

The Legislature this year created a new statute that applies to hash oil blasts. The crime, arson incident to manufacture of a cannabinoid extract, is a felony. The statute does not apply to the Astoria blast, which took place last year.

-- Noelle Crombie

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https://www.krdo.com/news/pueblo/husb...-co-/476809088


Husband, wife arrested following butane hash oil lab explosion in Pueblo Co.
By: Holly Morrison
Posted: May 02, 2017 03:45 PM MDT
Updated: May 02, 2017 05:55 PM MDT

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. - The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office arrested a married couple on Tuesday in connection with a butane hash oil lab explosion at their home in eastern Pueblo County.

Michael Scott Gardner, 41, and Jesucita Gardner, 39, have been arrested and booked into the Pueblo County jail.

The explosion happened at their home in the 25000 block of Pleasant View Place at around 2 a.m.

When deputies got to the home, they found a refrigerator on the patio that was completely destroyed.

Michael told deputies that he thought someone had put a stick of dynamite in his refrigerator. However, after taking a look around, deputies found what they believed to be marijuana in the refrigerator and items that are normally used in a butane hash oil lab such as butane canisters and plastic packaging bags.

They also found a torn trash bag filled with marijuana plants, broken glass jars and pieces of insulation from the refrigerator.

When law enforcement went back to Michael, he admitted that he was making marijuana hash oil in his backyard. He said when he had finished the manufacturing process at around 1 a.m., he put it in his freezer and went to bed.

Shortly after, Michael said he heard an explosion in the backyard, and when he went to check to see what it was, he noticed the refrigerator was destroyed. Gardner said he called 911 and then began to clean up from the incident.

Gardner said his wife, Jesucita Gardner, helped him load some of the marijuana and glass remnants from the explosion and put them in her vehicle. Jesucita then drove away from their home but was stopped a short time later by deputies and arrested.

Michael was arrested for unlawful extraction of marijuana concentrate; possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute marijuana concentrate, tampering with evidence and reckless endangerment.

Jesucita was arrested for unlawful extraction of marijuana concentrate.

[SkyHighLer]

https://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/11...esa-injures-1/


Suspected hash oil lab fire in Costa Mesa injures 1

By ANTHONY MENDOZA | anmendoza@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: May 11, 2017 at 10:24 pm | UPDATED: May 12, 2017 at 11:15 am

COSTA MESA — A man suspected of running an illegal butane honey oil extraction lab suffered moderate burns when his operation caught fire on Thursday, May 11, authorities said.

The fire began after 9 p.m. at the 2200 block of Avalon Street and was contained to the backyard. The fire was put out within 20 minutes, Costa Mesa Fire Department Capt. Chris Coates said.

The man is also suspected of having an extensive marijuana growing operation at the home, according to Coates.

The man was transferred to Orange County Global Medical Center with injuries not considered life-threatening.

It is unclear whether the man owns the home or is a tenant. No other people were in the house at the time of the fire, Coates said.

No charges have been filed. The Costa Mesa Police and Fire Department are investigating the scene.

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https://katu.com/news/local/two-men-t...rton-apartment


Two men to face charges after hash oil explosion at Beaverton apartment
by Jason Nguyen, KATU NewsThursday, May 18th 2017

BEAVERTON, Ore. — A hash oil operation at a Beaverton apartment blew up late Wednesday night with several people, including two children, inside.

The explosion hospitalized 43-year-old Christopher Gibbons and landed Troix Chandler, 30, in Washington County Jail. Both will likely face charges, per Beaverton police.

The call came in around 11 p.m. reporting an explosion inside an apartment at 6320 SW Lombard.

Investigators believe the explosion came from the kitchen, where they found evidence of honey butane (hash) oil manufacturing.

In addition to the two suspects, there were also two children and a woman in the apartment at the time of the incident. There were no reports of injuries to the other people in the apartment.

Possible charges for Gibbons include arson, manufacturing a controlled substance and reckless endangering.

Chandler has been booked into prison and is facing arson, manufacturing a controlled substance and reckless endangerment charges. He has recent convictions for robbery, identity theft, heroin possession, felon with a weapon, theft and assault dating between 2010 and 2015. Gibbons' criminal history includes possession of a controlled substance in 1994, then meth possession and felon with a weapon convictions in 2007.

Neighbor Justin Ross said he heard commotion around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday before the explosion.

“I heard somebody say something about, ‘Why would you light a cigarette while we were mixing?’ And I was like, 'What the heck does that mean?'" Ross recalled. “Everybody is asleep... there wouldn’t have been no warning if it would’ve been bigger.... It wasn’t horribly loud. It was like somebody dropped something heavy in a metal garbage can. And then all the windows kind of rattled.”

He said he saw one of the men outside the apartment before first responders arrived.

"I came outside to find Chris complaining of not being able to see, not being able to feel his hands, wanting an ambulance... he thought his hands were missing," Ross said. “He put my life and everybody else’s life in danger. He could have exploded the whole building. I mean, there are two kids that live in the same apartment. If they are willing to put everybody else’s life in danger for their own ends. I mean, just to make a few dollars to get a little high, it’s inexcusable.”

In late April, another Beaverton homeowner blew up his own garage with a hash oil explosion, police say.

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https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/lo...hash-oil-maker


Santa Rosa hash oil maker facing 10 years in prison after explosion

PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | May 18, 2017, 12:09PM

A Santa Rosa hash oil manufacturer accused of endangering a nearby school when his plant caught fire last summer with thousands of volatile butane canisters inside has pleaded guilty to charges carrying up to 10 years in prison, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Thomas Jan Warren, 63, of Forestville, operated the Condo Court facility that burst into flames July 19 during production of the concentrated cannabis product. Workers tried unsuccessfully to put it out then fled the building, locking up a stockpile of nearly 10,000 unused butane canisters.

Firefighters initially unaware of the threat were able to squelch the blaze before any of the metal canisters, described by one fire official as “ticking time bombs,” exploded. A school serving special education students was about 100 feet away.

“We were very fortunate that we were able to stop the fire before explosions injured or killed people, from the school next door or our firefighters,” said Paul Lowenthal, Santa Rosa’s assistant fire marshal.

Warren and a dozen employees were later arrested. On Tuesday, the plant owner pleaded guilty to using a volatile substance to make the concentrated marijuana product with a sentencing enhancement for operating within 300 feet of a school.

He faces a punishment ranging from probation to 10 years in prison at his July 25 sentencing before Judge Dana Simonds. Employees could each receive up to six months in jail as their cases are resolved later this month, prosecutor Matt Hubley said.

Officials said the fire illustrates the potential danger of making hash oil, also known as honey oil, which is sold at dispensaries around the state. Under one production method, butane is used to extract oil from marijuana leaves.

Warren, who also ran A-1 Top Quality Paints in the front portion of the 8,000-square-foot warehouse, concealed his hash oil business behind a false wall, prosecutors said.

Inside, he had thousands of full and spent butane canisters as well as 1,500 pounds of marijuana and 54 pounds of processed oil.

Workers were actively using butane when the fire broke out. They left without notifying authorities, Hubley said, when they were unable to put it out with hand-held fire extinguishers.

It wasn’t until hours later that someone noticed smoke and called firefighters. They arrived to find a burning box of 96 butane canisters. The canisters can explode when heated.

Flames and smoke caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the commercial space.

“This fire is the result of unregulated, sloppy hash oil production that puts lives in danger,” Hubley said.

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https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article149599239.html


New butane restrictions add roadblock to making hash oil in Sacramento County
BY ELLEN GARRISON
egarrison@sacbee.com

Butane has long fueled camp stoves and cigarette lighters. But some residents are buying gallons of the gas for another purpose – producing the marijuana concentrate known as hash oil.

For that reason, Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna questions why liquor stores stock large quantities of butane, as he’s noticed in the South Oak Park neighborhood in his district.

Serna and other supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to limit the amount of butane that retailers in the county can sell to 600 milliliters, roughly equal to a British pint glass. The ordinance also would require local sellers to log the sale date, quantity and customer information. Residents will only be able to possess 600 milliliters at any given time.

County leaders are particularly concerned that explosions linked to butane hash oil labs have been on the rise for the last decade.

“That caused me to reflect on whether or not my constituents are in that much of a dire need for that much butane,” Serna said. “Knowing what I know about the process for extracting cannabinoids. ... I saw the need immediately for there to be some sort of intervention.”

Hash oil, sometimes called honey oil, is made by cramming marijuana into a tube and running butane through it. That strips THC – the ingredient that produces a high – from the plant matter.

The liquid that comes out the tube’s bottom is then heated to evaporate the butane. What remains is a waxy substance that can be smoked, used in edibles or placed in e-cigarettes.

The evaporation part of the process can be deadly. Refined butane vapor is clear, odorless and heavier than air, so it sinks to the ground and can gather in enclosed spaces. It’s highly flammable, so any tiny flare is enough to cause an explosion, such as a spark from a wall outlet or a refrigerator motor.

Components of a butane hash oil lab are fairly inexpensive and tutorials on making the substance are easy to come by – a Google search turns up dozens of how-to guides.

Sacramento Fire Department Captain Mike Feyh said one or two 300-milliliter cans hold enough butane to blow up an entire apartment. He said some makers don’t realize that if there’s a leak in their system, a spark is all that’s needed to cause an explosion.

Dr. David Greenhalgh, chief of the burn division at UC Davis Medical Center, said patients tied to butane explosions began showing up in the burn ward around 2007. Since then, the number of patients per year has grown to about 30 out of 400, about 7 percent of all burn patients.

While average patients have burns on 8 percent to 10 percent of their bodies, people caught in butane explosions have burns on 30 percent of their body on average, he said. In some cases, burns cover 70 to 90 percent of a patient’s body.

Hospital stays for burns work out to roughly a day per percent burned, he said.

“They can be in for five, six, seven months in critical care units,” Greenhalgh said. “We’re talking lots of money. ... They’re not always the highest-insured kinds of people.”

Greenhalgh said exact numbers are hard to determine because people in butane explosions sometimes lie about the source of the fire. He compared the proliferation of hash oil labs to methamphetamine labs in the 1990s that relied on the cold drug pseudoephedrine.

“When they got control of the pseudoephedrine, they stopped having that (meth lab explosion) problem,” Greenhalgh said. Federal Drug Enforcement Administration statistics show incidents involving meth labs fell from 180 in California in 2010 to 47 in 2014.

The Sacramento County ordinance is on track to take effect June 22. It will ban sales of butane over 600 milliliters in Sacramento County, but a three-pack of 300 milliliter cans is available on Amazon for $19.99. The gas can legally be used to refill lighters and power camp stoves.

The ordinance does not restrict the purchase of butane with odor added – the smell lingers in the hash oil, so manufacturers don’t use it.

Feyh is working with Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, and firefighter organizations to pass Assembly Bill 1120, which would put the same regulations in place statewide. The bill is currently in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Feyh said butane hash oil labs used to be more of a rural problem, and cities such as Red Bluff and Eureka passed ordinances restricting butane. But recently, labs have emerged in more suburbs and urban areas, he said.

“People could be doing it next door and you would never know,” he said.