by peter e. bortner
The Butler Township man charged with operating a methamphetamine laboratory in his home sits in prison after a Schuylkill County judge revoked his bail in two other cases Friday.
Duane H. Maurer, 50, of Fountain Springs, must sit in prison pending further court proceedings, President Judge William E. Baldwin ruled.
"He's being held without bail pending trial," Assistant District Attorney Rebecca A. Elo said of Maurer after Friday's hearing.
Baldwin revoked Maurer's bail due to the new charges, Elo said.
"Mr. Maurer has several cases," she said.
In the first of two cases, prosecutors charged Maurer with conspiracy and aiding consummation of a crime. He was charged with criminal trespass in the other.
State police at Frackville charged Maurer with committing conspiracy and aiding consummation of a crime Feb. 2, while Shenandoah police charged him with committing criminal trespass Dec. 7, 2012, in the borough.
The charges that resulted in Maurer's return to prison - five counts of risking a catastrophe, four of possession of red phosphorous and one each of manufacture of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia - stem from the discovery of the meth lab at his 406 Catherine St. home.
Butler Township police allege Maurer and Deborah A. Reedy, 59, operated the lab at their home.
Police said they entered the home after neighbors reported an unusual odor coming from it. Once inside, police said, they called firefighters, who detected a high concentration of an ammonia-based odor.
Firefighters found what they believed to be the source of the odor on the basement steps of that home where a 16-ounce plastic bottle with tubes fixed to the lids and a glass jar containing a milky, oily white substance were found, according to police.
Police said they contacted the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force and the state police Clandestine Laboratory Response Team for assistance.
A county detective found the items discovered by fire personnel on the basement steps, plus a can of starting fluid in the living room, lithium batteries that were pulled apart, three plastic bottles filled with a white substance, a bottle of liquid fire with a tube sticking out of the top and a soap dish with a white substance on it, police said.The defendant
Name: Duane H. Maurer
Age: 50
Residence: Fountain Springs
Charges: Five counts of risking a catastrophe, four of possession of red phosphorous and one each of manufacture of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, conspiracy, aiding consummation of a crime and criminal trespass