CLEARFIELD – A Rockton man accused of making methamphetamine at his residence pleaded guilty Friday in Clearfield County Court.
Joshua Keith Kaufman, 24, pleaded guilty to a felony count of operating a methamphetamine lab, recklessly endangering another person and a related charge.
President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman sentenced him to one to three years in state prison. This sentence will run consecutive to his current state prison sentence of eight months to two years that he received in May for a probation violation on a previous retail theft case.
In an unrelated case, he also pleaded guilty to a felony retail theft and was given a concurrent six months to two years in state prison sentence.
The charges stem from an incident Jan. 19 in Union Township when emergency personnel were called to Kaufman’s address to treat someone with chemical burns. Two emergency medical technicians had to be treated for breathing difficulties after arriving on the scene.
Prior to sentencing, Curtis Irwin, who was representing Kaufman explained this was not a “Breaking Bad” type of meth lab, but the “one pot” method.
Ammerman commented that Kaufman was not very competent with making meth.
Irwin noted that the revocation sentence is the longest sentence Kaufman has ever been given and asked the new sentence run concurrent with the revocation sentence.
Ammerman agreed that it was “just a couple plastic bottles” and Kaufman was just “cooking something for himself.”
He then listed some of Kaufman’s previous juvenile convictions and probation revocations for drug use. At one point, Kaufman did attend an inpatient rehabilitation facility.
“It’s not like he didn’t have treatment,” Ammerman commented before announcing the consecutive sentence.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, emergency personnel requested police respond to the scene to investigate a possible meth lab. An emergency medical technician told police when they arrived they found Kaufman in a mobile home at 324 N. Continental Dr., which is the home of his parents.
Kaufman, who had skin burns on his body, told them he was cooking in the shed at the 326 N. Continental Dr. address. When the EMT looked inside the shed, a large haze/cloud came out. He saw soda bottles and red pills on the floor. He asked Kaufman what he was cooking and Kaufman said it was meth. His parents who were at the scene said he cooks all the time, according to the complaint.
When an officer arrived he saw in plain view in the building a can of Coleman fuel, a bottle of lye and two plastic bottles with white and grey colored residue believed to be “one pot” methamphetamine vessels or acid generators.
A search warrant was obtained for this residence and executed by police and members of the Clandestine Laboratory Response Team.
One plastic bottle appeared to have exploded and was the suspected cause of Kaufman’s burns. Burnt material was scattered all over the room causing scorching to the floor, walls and furniture, according to the police report.
Two suspected acid generators that were partially melted were also found inside the room. Numerous precursor items used for manufacturing meth and related paraphernalia were allegedly found scattered around the living area along with Kaufman’s belongings.
Kaufman was taken by ambulance and then flown to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh.
When the EMT was questioned again, he explained that when he arrived on the scene Kaufman was sitting in a chair in the mobile home. He said he claimed he had been cleaning with sulfuric acid in his home.
His father accompanied the EMT to the Kaufman’s residence behind the mobile home. Kaufman’s father opened the door and a white cloud of smoke came from inside. There were plastic bottles lying inside on the floor, some pills and burn marks.
The EMT said he started to have trouble breathing from the fumes. He then rode in the ambulance to the hospital where he was given oxygen until his carbon dioxide levels came down. The EMT was in the hospital a few hours before being released.
A second EMT who treated Kaufman on the scene told police he noticed Kaufman’s burns were pretty severe and his skin was starting to come off. Later Kaufman allegedly told them he was trying to cook meth inside his residence when it blew up.
There was a strong metallic smell inside the mobile home and a cloudy mist that was something the second EMT had never smelled before, he told police. When they were getting Kaufman in the ambulance, this EMT became very light headed as if he was going to pass out, he said. He had to receive oxygen and another ambulance was dispatched to take him to hospital for treatment. He also received oxygen at the hospital and was released a few hours later. He stated he had to miss work the next day.