Potential drug lab discovered near campus

By Jennifer Salva
University Daily Kansan – August 28, 2013

Lawrence Police Department officers found “fuels and potentially hazardous chemicals” at a residence of the 2500 block of Crestline Court shortly before 8 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 27, after determining it was the residence of an injured man who was found at a gas station. Evidence was collected from the residence and a search revealed what could be the presence of methamphetamines or other drugs, Sgt. Trent McKinley, Lawrence Police Department Public Affairs Officer, said.

Lawrence police officers arrived at a gas station on South Iowa Street just after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning in response to a call about a man “suffering from burns and making unusual statements,” according to the Lawrence police media release. The man was assessed by medical personnel and transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the release.

“These were burns that could’ve been caused by contact with chemicals or fire,” said Sgt. McKinley. “We are interested in the relationship between those chemicals and burns to the person.”

First responders determined that the burns occurred at the man’s home and went to the residence on Crestline Court.

The address was confirmed by Richard Degenhardt, a tenant of the adjoining duplex.

At 4 a.m., Degenhardt said he awoke to two firefighters with flashlights banging on his bedroom window. He grabbed his shotgun and looked around the house to make sure no one was breaking in.

Degenhardt said he did not go outside until 7:50 a.m., when he saw three police officers waiting outside with hands on their guns, preparing to go inside the residence.

According to the police report, the search warrant was obtained and executed shortly before 8 a.m. with the assistance of fire personnel. Douglas County Fire Medical units were requested for the protection of officers and other individuals in the area, and animal control was present to remove two dogs from the house, Sgt. McKinley said.

“It was just crazy,” Degenhardt said. “You wouldn’t assume meth labs would be this far up in Kansas.”

Degenhardt said he noticed a lot of moisture in the house; enough to condense and drip down the windows. A strong odor that smelled like dogs and mildew came from behind the front door.

Degenhardt said he did not know who his next-door neighbor was, but described him as strange.

“It was just in how he acted. He looked away when he was pulling into the driveway,” he said.

Officers from the Lawrence Police Department and members of the Douglas County Drug Enforcement Unit will continue investigating the incident and no arrests have been made, according to the release.

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