Search of Alleged Drug Lab Finds No Links to UCI

A search of a San Clemente couple’s home turned up no evidence linking their alleged methamphetamine lab to UC Irvine’s chemistry department, where the husband worked as an assistant, police and university officials said Thursday.

Daniel Scarr, 34, a graduate chemistry student, and Sandra Louise Scarr, 37, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of manufacturing methamphetamines and cultivating marijuana. They were both being held at Orange County Jail on $100,000 bail each, Irvine Police Lt. Sam Allevato said.

Initial searches of the Scarrs’ home found no apparent connection between the seized material, which included beakers, scales, “large amounts” of chemicals and a “sophisticated marijuana cultivation system,” Irvine police said.

Police are still checking the chemistry department’s records and inventory, Allevato said.

UCI Police Chief Kathleen Stanley said large and expensive lab equipment usually bear “Property of UCI” labels. It would be difficult to determine whether smaller items were stolen from the labs, she said.

“There’s no evidence that chemicals or materials found in the residence were from UCI property,” Stanley said.

Daniel Scarr worked in a research lab that specialized in bio-organic chemistry and molecular recognition, which is the study of how chemicals interact. Graduate students are not required to sign out equipment and chemicals they use, according to John Hemminger, chairman of UCI’s chemistry department.