Updated: LCSD Busts Meth Lab After Explosion

Update: William Austin Todd, 31, of 150 South East Avenue, Leesville, was arrested Wednesday night on an arrest warrant on a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine.

 

One man is on the run and a woman is in jail following the bust of a suspected meth lab in Leesville late Tuesday night, the Lexington County Sheriff's Department said.

At approximately 10 p.m. on Tuesday, deputies responded to a call at 209 Valley Stream Road in Leesville. The home owner indicated he heard an explosion that came from a room in his nearby detached garage where his stepdaughter lives, the department reported. 

Once inside, deputies determined that a clandestine methamphetamine lab had exploded inside the building in a bathroom. The explosion was large enough to blow the door out of the bathroom and damage the inside, including blowing out a section of the ceiling. 

Deputies arrested suspect Brenda Kuhn, 37, at the scene and charged her with the manufacturing of methamphetamine. She is being held at the county Detention Center on a $25,000 bond. 

Meanwhile, deputies continue to search for a suspect they believe to have been burned in the incident. The suspect, William Austin Todd, 31, of 150 South East Ave., Leesville, fled the scene before deputies arrived, the department said. He remains wanted on an arrest warrant on a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine. 

"We are pursuing leads on Todd’s whereabouts and checking hospitals in the Midlands," Maj. John Allard told Patch. "So far, we have not been able to locate Todd."

The byproducts of meth production are considered hazardous waste, but the site has been cleaned, Allard said.

"We have clandestine methamphetamine laboratory technicians assigned to the Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team, and those officers remove the hazardous chemicals and other items when we investigate meth labs," he exlained. "So, we handled the clean-up from the lab. I do not know what manufacturing method was being used for the lab when it exploded."

To see crime-scene photos of the explosion, click here.