Repairmen spent most of Monday replacing windows in several units at Sunnyside Apartments in Porterville after a drug-making experiment caused an explosion.
Porterville Police say /*Seth Liberty*/, 27, was trying to make a concentrated form of marijuana using a butane bottle and a plastic container.
Sgt. Ronald Moore said, "We think that a flame or a spark came out of the butane and ignited and caused the explosion."
/*Nicholas Clinger*/ claims he was in the apartment when the explosion happened. He says he, Liberty and some other friends were trying to speed up the process of making a highly intoxicating hash out of marijuana so they put the container in the freezer.
Clinger said, "All that platter has gas and stuff in it but we wanted it to freeze up so we could smoke it already so we put it in the freezer and then boom that's it done deal don't put your hash in the freezer."
The blast blew the door off the refrigerator and broke the windows to the apartment and an apartment next door.
Sabrina Castrajoa, neighbor said, "The windows were all shattered and open and everything it was scary."
"It was spontaneous out of nowhere. Something that we never expected," said Clinger. "When it happened my eyes kind of shut because of the loudness and when I looked up everything was spread out apart. I went outside everybody was freaking out."
Porterville Police say while they don't normally investigate this type of drug-induced explosion, it has happened before.
Sgt. Ronald Moore said, "Three years ago the same type of incident another subject trying to extract honey oil from marijuana and got a spark and it blew up in a different apartment complex."
Seth Liberty remains in custody for using a chemical process for trying to make a drug. Porterville Police say they are still investigating the case.
