Update (11/30/16 3:00 p.m.) – The Grants Pass Department of Public Safety said all hazardous materials have been removed from the home.
Police have concluded the suspect was working on creating a functioning methamphetamine lab. Officers found glassware, equipment and chemicals that could be used to manufacture meth.
However, GPDPS said several chemicals needed to manufacture meth were missing from the scene. Therefore there is no legal basis for a charge of manufacture of methamphetamine.
Aaron B. Parkinson and Jessica N. Cowart are still charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine. They no longer appear as inmates on the Josephine County online inmate database.
Grants Pass, Ore. – Police served a search warrant at a home on the 1900 block of SW K Street in Grants Pass Tuesday morning at around 10:00. The warrant was related to an ongoing narcotics investigation, according to the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety.
Once inside the house, Grants Pass Department of Public Safety officers said they smelled a very strong and concerning chemical smell and saw an unusual substance. Officers have not yet determined what the substance is, so SW K Street between SW Anique Lane and SW Wagner Meadows was closed to traffic as a precaution. Two nearby homes were also evacuated.
GPDPS Lieutenant Todd Moran told NBC5 News, “Once we can identify what it is, then each chemical that we come into contact with or is in the general public has an evacuation criteria. So we just want to make sure we’re following the guidelines.”
According to Grants Pass police, the Oregon State Police Clandestine Laboratory Team from Portland is currently on their way to the scene.
GPDPS said so far, 34-year-old Aaron B. Parkinson and 23-year-old Jessica N. Cowart were arrested on charges of unlawful possession of methamphetamine.
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