LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — A 33-year-old man has been charged with operating a methamphetamine lab and other related offenses following an investigation into a Lebanon City residential fire that displaced nine people and sent another individual to Lehigh Valley Hospital’s burn unit on November 17.
An officer within the city’s police department made contact with Joseph Reese, who told police that the location of the fire — the 100 block of North Liberty Street — was his residence. Reese was burned on his inner thighs and stomach.
As fire investigators checked for the source, they located items believed to be drug paraphernalia, the criminal complaint says. A State Police fire investigator was then notified to assist in determining the cause.
Two days after the fire, members of the State Police Clandestine Lab Response Team executed a search warrant of the home. According to the criminal complaint, the team found ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine.
“Lab results from the PSP [State Police] lab indicated that the ‘Nazi’ or ‘one pot’ method of producing methamphetamine was attempted and successful based on their analysis of the evidence,” the officer wrote in the criminal complaint.
