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4:39 a.m. • 5-23-12

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Man catches fire in Wilson County meth lab explosion


Mobile home explosion
Mobile home explosion
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A 25-year-old man caught fire Sunday in an explosion at his mobile home near Elm City. Authorities said they believe the explosion was related to the production of methamphetamine.

Lucas Benjamin Barrett drove himself to Wilson Medical Center and his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Wilson County Sheriff's deputies, later assisted by the Wilson County Narcotic Division and State Bureau of Investigation, were dispatched to 5431-A Weaver Road shortly before 1 p.m. to investigate an explosion.

Heavy smoke billowed from a trash can in the backyard of the property, neighbors said, and two men had left the house. One of them, later identified as Barrett, was on fire.

After executing a search warrant, authorities determined that the explosion was "meth lab related," a Wilson County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said.

A clean-up crew was called in to remove any hazardous material from the home.

Authorities said neighbors had no reason to worry, but Courtney Davis said the explosion put her on edge.

"I'm just shocked because I didn't hear anything and neither did my parents," said Courtney Davis.

She said she didn't know Barrett and never saw him coming or going from his mobile home.

"I walk my dog down that path all the time and I really didn't know anyone lived there," she said. "You never see any cars, never see any lights."

RELATED TOPICS: Wilson County, State Bureau of Investigation, Wilson


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See what problems are caused by illegal drugs? We should make them legal and all of these problems go away.

The ones who are posting negative comments, I'm assuming that if you have children they are perfect? I doubt it. People make mistakes.

I suppose our taxes will be paying for this clean up and medical care.

Oh absolutely...ans IF he gets jail time, we pay for the attorney(s), food he eats and everything else he is "entitled" to...

"Uh.......ObamaCare."

it's so easy to dismiss partisan hacks as being ignorant to lots of things. has nothing to do with obama. was happening long before obama.

Reminds me of Richard Preyer talking about when he set himself on fire. 'When you are running down the street on fire, people get out of your way!'

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