By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com
A man linked to a powerful drug-related explosion that damaged a series of garages in a gated Roseville apartment complex is in the UC Davis Medical Center today with burns over his face and neck, police said.
Roseville Police Lt. Michael Doane said the unidentified Roseville suspect, in his early 30s, was seen running from the site of the 5:47 p.m. blast Saturday.
The explosion in the 700 block of Gibson Drive occurred from a buildup of propane apparently as the suspect was attempting to extract hash oil from marijuana plants inside one of the garage units, Doane said.
"There was no ventilation in the garage," he said. "There was a buildup of butane and something sparked the gas and caused the explosion."
Responding officers found damage in perhaps a half dozen garages, including two garage doors blown off their frames and walls breached between units. One garage door was blown outward by 40 feet to 50 feet, hitting a fence, Doane said.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the explosion site and found several pounds of marijuana.
The garages do not directly link to apartment units.
Some time after the blast, occupants of an apartment unit in the complex came home and found the injured man had broken in. They alerted police.
"He is a suspect and ultimately he will be facing criminal prosecution," Doane said of the suspect. However, instead of arresting him on the spot, the man was transported to the hospital for treatment.
He faces arrest in connection with both the drugs and unlawful entry into an apartment, he said.
"His injuries are taking precedence over the criminal prosecution," Doane explained. In addition to injuries from the blast, the man sustained self-inflicted wounds, he said.
Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.
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