DUBOIS – DuBois City police responded to the 300 block of Quarry Avenue for a report about an alleged methamphetamine lab on Saturday.
According to police, a resident returned home around 1:30 a.m. and allegedly smelled strong chemical odors. When she confronted her son, he allegedly packed up a methamphetamine lab in a backpack and fled the residence.
Upon arrival officers located the male to the rear of the 200 block of Quarry Avenue without the backpack. Officers located the backpack just off the roadway in a secluded field adjacent to Sandy Lick Creek.
When officers approached the suspicious backpack, they allegedly witnessed a white smoke emitting from it. Officers backed away, secured the area and summoned the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Lab Response Team.
According to police, response team members collected evidence and neutralized the hazardous material used in the production of methamphetamine that were allegedly located inside the backpack. They believed that the methamphetamine lab was active and capable of yielding a finished product.
There were not any area residents evacuated or displaced, except for the caller. After lab team members cleared her residence, the caller was permitted back inside her residence. There weren’t any injuries or direct exposure to hazardous materials reported, police said.
The male, Jason Yusnukis, 25, of DuBois was arrested on outstanding felony warrants from previous arrests and transported to Clearfield County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Additional criminal charges for the production of methamphetamine will be filed pending certified lab results from the Erie Regional Crime Lab, police said.
Police were assisted by the DuBois Volunteer Fire Department and the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Lab Team.