3 Die From Toxic Fumes in Makeshift Drug Lab

Two brothers and a young woman who allegedly were producing the illegal drug methamphetamine died when fumes from a makeshift drug laboratory filled a Van Nuys home Sunday.

Los Angeles police said they arrested one man for investigation of murder and will attempt to have similar charges filed against officials of the firm that sold the chemicals to the would-be drug manufacturers.

This is only the fifth time, according to Police Department records, that a death has been caused by fumes released in a homemade drug laboratory in the city. The victims were identified as Christopher Richard Smith, 27, of Van Nuys, his brother, David, 20, of Vista in San Diego County, and Lisa Ann Cross, 20, of Van Nuys. “Usually drug manufacturing deaths are caused by a fire or an explosion,” said Roy Wonderlich, a narcotics detective.

A 6 a.m. telephone call for help led to the discovery of the drug lab in the 6400 block of Densmore Avenue, police said.

Urgent Call

David Smith telephoned a friend, Russell Blackwood, 22, of Vista, who was staying in the Van Nuys area, early Sunday and asked him to hurry to the house, police said. Blackwood told police Smith said he was sick and wanted medical help.

En route to a nearby hospital, Smith’s breathing became erratic, authorities said, and Blackwood stopped his car and called for help. Paramedics responded, but Smith died on the way to the hospital.

Blackwood, meanwhile, directed police to the rented Van Nuys home. Officers entered the house, which Wonderlich said was filled with a “foul, rotten-smelling” odor, and found Cross’ body sprawled across a bed and Christopher Smith’s body on the floor in another room.

In the kitchen, police found on the stove a large glass jug, with tubes made from a plastic garden hose attached to the top. They also found three to four gallons of bottled liquid.

The percolating jug contained several chemicals, including hydriodic acid and red phosphorus, Sgt. John Rygh said.

These chemicals, when combined and heated properly, crystallize into methamphetamine, or “speed.”

It took crews from the Police Department’s Hazardous Chemical Response Team and Los Angeles firefighters four hours to cool down the large bottle, then identify and properly dispose of the chemicals.

Police said there were enough chemicals to make two or three pounds of the drug, but they could provide no immediate estimate of the street value of the finished product.

Wonderlich said the toxic fumes were released when the hot hydriodic acid passed through the plastic tubes. The acid melted the plastic, creating a chemical reaction that produced a poisonous hydriodic gas that filled the house.

“The people in the house were probably all asleep when one of them woke up and tried to neutralize the emissions. It got so bad that he called a friend for help,” Wonderlich said.

“From the position of the second man’s body, the fumes probably woke him up and before he could reach the lab, he was overcome by the gas,” the detective said.

Someone more experienced would have used glass tubing instead of plastic hose, Police Sgt. Harry Mauk said. “They were just amateur chemists,” he said.

Blackwood, who police said was involved in the alleged drug manufacturing scheme, was questioned and later booked on suspicion of murder.

“They kept to themselves. They weren’t rude, but they didn’t go out of their way to be friendly,” said one neighbor who declined to give her name. “They didn’t have any kids. They just didn’t bother folks.”

Wonderlich said he will look into filing murder charges against the supply house that sold the chemicals. The detective did not identify the firm, but as he held a fistful of receipts for chemicals found in the house, Wonderlich said the Police Department, along with other local law enforcement agencies, want stricter laws controlling the sale of chemicals used in the manufacture of illegal drugs, such as methamphetamine or PCP.