San Diego

A San Carlos couple were arrested Thursday morning after a neighbor’s complaint about a chemical odor coming from their apartment revealed a methamphetamine laboratory, San Diego police said.

Arrested on suspicion of manufacturing the illegal drug were Steven Frary, 24, and Barbara Hames, 20. Frary was being held at County Jail downtown and Hames was taken to the County Jail at Las Colinas, police spokesman Rick Carlson said.

At 8:23 a.m., police officers responded to a call in the 6600 block of Bell Bluff Avenue of an odor coming out of an apartment. When officers arrived they smelled what appeared to be ether coming out of the apartment, Carlson said.

Firefighters were summoned to the scene by police and proceeded to climb up the ladder into an apartment window. However, the occupants inside the home opened the door and authorities entered the apartment, Carlson said.

Inside, Carlson said, police officers found “large quantities” of ether, other chemicals and lab paraphernalia. Officers also discovered odor coming from the apartment’s bathroom toilet and believed that Frary and Hames were pouring the chemicals down the drain.

In addition to the chemicals, police said they confiscated handguns, rifles and several pet dogs. A detective from the Narcotics Task Force and a unit from the county’s hazardous materials unit also were called to investigate.