Suspected Illegal Drug Manufacturer Is Arrested

A federal fugitive and accused illegal drug manufacturer who boasted that he would “never be taken alive” was arrested after falling through the attic of his Sepulveda home where he was hiding from law enforcement authorities, officials said Sunday.

Lawrence Warren Smith, 46, suspected of manufacturing methamphetamines, was taken into custody about 9 p.m. Saturday by federal Drug Enforcement Agency officers and members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s SWAT team.

Smith, a convicted felon, had threatened to kill any police officers who tried to arrest him, said federal drug agent Ralph Lochridge.

Smith was armed with a hand grenade and a gun, and probably hid in the attic of his Lassen Street home for several hours while authorities conducted a methodical, room-by-room search of the house, Lochridge said.

Smith dropped the weapons when he fell through the attic floor while trying to escape, Lochridge said.

During their search of the home, authorities found three ounces of methamphetamines and equipment to manufacture the potent stimulant, 12 firearms, 2,000 rounds of ammunition and two pipe bombs. Nine silencers for assault weapons also were found in the house, authorities said.

“He certainly appears to be a one-man criminal enterprise,” Lochridge said.

Smith was released on bail last April after his arrest in the Lake Elsinore area of Riverside County. Lochridge said authorities there found remnants of a methamphetamine lab, four pounds of the drug, 21 firearms, explosives and 10 pounds of the controlled substance ephedrine, used to manufacture methamphetamines.

The search for Smith began in May when he failed to appear at a preliminary hearing on charges stemming from the Lake Elsinore arrest, Lochridge said. Smith is also wanted in Northern California on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana and possession of illegal drugs.

He has a “long history of violent and dangerous behavior,” Lochridge said.

Smith is being held without bail in the jail ward of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries. He will be transferred today to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center downtown to appear before a U.S. magistrate.

Lochridge said Smith faces a maximum of 115 years in prison if convicted in the Lake Elsinore case and a minimum of 80 years on charges to be filed in connection with his arrest Saturday.