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Suspected Drug Lab Explodes

boomA suspected clandestine drug lab gave itself away when the home kitchen it was set up in exploded, sending the alleged drug cooker to the hospital suffering from burns and an innocent elderly man who also lives there, went to the hospital with heart troubles. According to the Sheriff’s Department, at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3 the Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit responded to an apartment at 1351 Los Olivos Ave., Los Osos, for a report of an explosion. “Initial reports said a toaster caught fire in the kitchen area and then spread to the cabinets,” Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla said in a news release. “A man inside the apartment used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire and then drove himself to a local hospital with burns to his face and arms.” The man, identified as Matthew David Culver, 32 of Los Osos, was transferred to the Fresno Burn Center for treatment. “However,” Cipolla said, “when investigators arrived on scene, they found evidence of a butane honey oil conversion lab, which converts marijuana into hash oil or ‘honey oil.’ The extraction process uses parts of the marijuana plant and converts them to a more concentrated oil using butane gas in the process. This process is highly dangerous and can result in explosions like this one.” Also, an elderly man who leases the apartment was inside when the place blew up. While he was not injured in the explosion, he was taken tot he hospital for “heart related issues. He is not considered a suspect in this case,” Cipolla said. Culver’s troubles are not over. “Once Culver is released from the hospital,” Cipolla said, “investigators plan to charge him with [suspicion of] manufacture of a controlled substance and elder abuse.” Information on the extent of the damage done to the apartment was not available immediately, as questions posed to the Cal Fire Sta. 15 in Los Osos and headquarters in SLO, were directed back at the Sheriff’s Office, which didn’t have the information, yet. responded.

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