UPDATE: Suspect arrested in deadly explosion at San Francisco home; Evidence shows drug lab
SAN FRANCISCO -- A suspect has been taken into custody following a deadly explosion and fire Thursday at a home in San Francisco's Sunset District that police said was being used as a clandestine drug lab.
San Francisco police identified the suspect as 53-year-old Darron Price of San Francisco. Members of the department's arson task force took him into custody on the unit block of Newhall Street, in an industrial area in the city's India Basin district at around 4:30 p.m. Friday. A police source told KPIX that the suspect turned himself in after being contacted by investigators.
UPDATE: Manslaughter, drug charges filed in San Francisco Sunset District home explosion; Victim identified
Price was booked into San Francisco County Jail on charges of involuntary manslaughter, manufacturing narcotics and two counts of child endangerment.
A person died and two others, including a firefighter, were injured when a home in the 1700 block of 22nd Avenue exploded and caught fire Thursday morning. The explosion shattered nearby windows and the fire severely damaged the two neighboring homes on each side. The house completely collapsed on itself.
The explosion and fire prompted the evacuation of homes on the same block along with shelter-in-place orders.
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Police said as investigators sifted through the rubble, they discovered evidence of a possible narcotics manufacturing facility. It was determined that an active illegal narcotics manufacturing lab was in the home, police said in a press statement.
Police said the death of the victim was still being investigated. According to a police source, the deceased victim who was found in the home was a woman whose caretaker, while doing a load of laundry, started the dryer which may have sparked the blast.
The source also told KPIX that police suspect someone at the residence may have been making hash oil.
On Friday morning, evidence collected from the destroyed home by police led to a hazardous materials emergency in Daly City. Fire investigators said the driver of a truck transporting the evidence smelled gas, stopped to investigate on southbound Junipero Serra Blvd., and called 911.
The fire department responded with hazmat situation crews and police cordoned off the area, shutting down Junipero Serra from West Lake to John Daly Blvd., near the Daly City station. The incident interrupted BART service on the Peninsula for several hours.
Police later confirmed the vehicle was carrying evidence from Thursday's explosion and fire.
Police said that while an arrest has been made, the investigation remained open and anyone with information was asked to call the SFPD 24-hour tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a text to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
