Federal and local hazardous materials crews are once again investigating an Irvine teenager’s home chemistry lab, which prompted a weeklong FBI investigation earlier this year.
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The current probe, at the family’s current home after neighbors reported suspicious drums in the backyard, could take “multiple days,” the Irvine Police Department announced on Facebook.
Orange County Fire Authority hazardous materials crews were dispatched just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 7 for an odor check at a home on Crater in the guard-gated Altair community near the Great Park, according to OCFA Capt. Sean Doran.
The response comes about five months after the FBI, Orange County Fire Authority, Irvine police and other agencies spent days investigating what authorities at the time described as a homemade science laboratory at the family’s previous house in the same neighborhood.
The investigation remained ongoing Thursday. In a social media update, Irvine police said the FBI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were “carefully examining and evaluating materials” at the home and that the work could take several days to complete. The Irvine Police Department and Orange County Fire Authority remained on scene assisting.
“There is no known danger to the community at this time,” the department added.
Charles Ray, the family’s attorney, said the response stemmed from equipment and chemicals associated with the family’s previous home laboratory.
According to Ray, after the February investigation, the family bought another home in the Altair community and moved equipment and chemical containers to the new residence. He said the FBI confiscated some materials during the earlier investigation but left others behind in large drums and buckets.
Ray said the family transferred the contents of the containers into cabinets inside the new home, while several drums remained in the backyard. He said a neighbor either noticed the drums or detected an odor and contacted authorities.
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“We are having a complete déjà vu of the last incident,” Ray said.
The family was displaced from the home Tuesday and planned to stay in a hotel while authorities investigated, he said.
Ray said the materials drawing investigators’ attention were among the equipment and chemicals the FBI examined during its February investigation and left behind when agents completed their work.
“This is just another misunderstanding,” Ray said.
The attorney described his client, Amalvin Fritz, as “a mini Einstein, not a criminal.”
Now 18, Fritz had recently graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. During interviews following the February investigation, Fritz said his research focused on molecular structures with potential pharmaceutical applications and that his long-term goal was to help develop treatments for diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
The earlier investigation began after maintenance workers responding to a leak at the family’s rental home discovered the teenager’s chemistry lab and contacted authorities. The FBI’s Hazardous Evidence Response Team ultimately responded, and investigators spent nearly a week processing the home.
At the time, authorities said there was no known threat to public safety, and no criminal charges were announced. Fritz and his attorney maintained throughout the investigation that the chemicals had been legally obtained and were being used for legitimate scientific research.
It was not immediately clear Thursday what materials investigators were examining or whether any had been removed from the home. The FBI could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, and Ray could not be reached Thursday afternoon for further comment.
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