ORCUTT A Santa Maria man was arrested over the weekend after a butane honey oil lab exploded inside an apartment in the 3300 block of Orcutt Road in Orcutt, authorities said.
Around 1:30 p.m. Feb. 15, authorities responded to the area after one of the residents had already been transported by ground ambulance after suffering serious injuries. Deputies quickly identified articles inside the apartment associated with a drug lab and detectives from the Cannabis Compliance Team responded to the scene, said Raquel Zick, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Albert Alvarado, 37, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, arson causing great bodily injury, manufacturing a controlled substance and manufacturing a controlled substance when a child under 16 is present – all felony charges. In addition, he was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale, a misdemeanor.An investigation is continuing. Residents are reminded that extracting oils from cannabis is both illegal and extremely dangerous. In this specific incident, the violent explosion from the drug lab caused significant damage to the apartment, including blasting a sliding door off the rails. To report suspected illegal extraction labs, leave an anonymous tip at 805-681-4171 or visit www.sbsheriff.org/anonymous-tip.
