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Police Discover Odor Was Due To Meth Lab Operation

Police and emergency personnel responded this week after discovering an odor was tied to the reported operation of a methamphetamine lab on Berry Street in Fredonia. Several charges have been filed and more are pending, Police said Wednesday. Submitted photo

FREDONIA — Police determined a suspicious odor detected in Fredonia earlier this week was due to the operations of a methamphetamine lab.

Members of the Fredonia Police Department assisted a worker from the Chautauqua County Child Protection around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at 15 Berry St. in Fredonia. Police were asked to investigate what the worker suspected was some type of drug manufacturing equipment located inside the dwelling.

Upon officers’ arrival, Krystal Hafner, 32, was reportedly in the process of disposing chemical solutions and equipment. In doing so, noxious fumes began to fill the home. The residence was evacuated and firefighters called to the scene.

The Chautauqua County Hazardous Materials Response Team responded was summoned while Fredonia police secured a search warrant for the residence. The NYS Police Special Operations Response Team responded to the scene for evidence collection and hazardous waste disposal.

Based on items recovered at the scene, Hafner, along with Christopher S. Miller, 39, who also lives at 15 Berry St., were charged with third-degree unlawful manufacturing of methamphetamine, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Hafner was additionally charged with unlawful disposal of methamphetamine laboratory material, a felony.

Hafner and her two-month-old child were the only subjects home at the time of the incident. Police said four children, ranging in age from 2 months to 17 years, also lived at the residence but were not at the residence at the time of the evacuation. The couple has nine children between them.

Fredonia police were assisted at the scene by the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force.

Police said the investigation is continuing and additional charges are pending. Anyone with information regarding this incident or others is asked to contact the Fredonia Police Department.

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