Two New York residents were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to produce methamphetamine earlier this year.
Dawn M. Royea, 42 and Daniel M. Van Luven, 44, were taken into police custody for charges concerning an incident in May, in which the two were suspected of manufacturing methamphetamines in Auburn.
Royea and Moravia were each charged with multiple counts of methamphetamine production, including criminal possession of precursors to methamphetamine. All are felony-level charges, the Auburn Citizen reported, but their charges for endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of manufacturing materials were misdemeanors.
The arrests were made based on evidence found during police's first visit to the home in May 2013. Law enforcement officials told the Citizen that the Auburn Fire Department was called to the Brogan Manor Apartments on Olympia Avenue for a reported grease fire at about 4:55 a.m. on May 9. When they arrived at the house, they found Royea and Van Luven, burned badly, in Royea's apartment. Children were at the apartment when the event happened, but they did not sustain any injuries. The pair told police that a grease fire suddenly broke out while they were cooking chicken wings, but police were skeptical of the validity of the story, since it didn't look like oil-induced flames occurred inside the residence at all.
"The male subject said, 'Oh, I took the pan and threw it off into the woods,'" Capt. David Delfavero of the APD told the Citizen.
One witness told police they saw Royea ablaze, rolling around on the ground, writhing in pain. The witness was said to have assisted Royea in putting out the flames.
Police found two 2-liter bottles in a clearing located near the house that bore traces of methamphetamine.
"Looked like the bottles were being used for the one-pot method of cooking methamphetamine," Delfavero reported.
Tests to determine whether the bottles did, in fact, hold methamphetamine came back positive for the illegal substance.
Royea and Luven were taken to Upstate University Hospital for treatment. Royea, who was previously imprisoned for drunk driving, was arraigned at Cayuga County Court Tuesday morning, then sent back to the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women.
