I just posted an update on that wierd case in San Diego.
Law enforcement is calling it drug-related:
Update on the strange story of Khaled Yasufi
SignOnSanDiego.com has published an update on Khaled Yasufi, the San Diego student who committed suicide after law enforcement was called to his apartment by other residents of the area who smelled chemicals.
Michelle Malkin had called our attention to the initial report earlier this week.
We had wondered what was up with all those chemicals, especially given the absence of any mention of drugs in the initial reports.
But based on this update, it appears that Law Enforcement has decided this man was simply brewing ecstacy.
Ecstasy lab found where man took his own life
UNIVERSITY CITY A drug lab capable of turning out 150,000 Ecstasy pills was found inside a man's apartment after he committed suicide with police outside his door last week, authorities said.
"This was a very sophisticated operation," Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Misha Piastro said yesterday. "It had the capacity to produce an awful lot of Ecstasy."
The man who shot and killed himself Oct. 7 was identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as Khaled Yusufi, 29, a medical student.
San Diego police were called to Yusufi's second-story apartment at Costa Verde Village, on Costa Verde Boulevard, about 1 p.m. by a neighbor who reported a strong odor coming from the unit.
Officers knocked on Yusufi's door to check on his welfare, but he stepped outside and told them, "There's nothing wrong here," police said. He went back inside, closed the door, and minutes later officers heard a single gunshot from inside.
Unsure who had fired the gun or why, officers called in a SWAT team, and hundreds of nearby tenants were evacuated for hours. About 7 p.m., SWAT officers directed a robot into Yusufi's apartment. A video camera showed his body, a handgun and a chemical lab in the bathroom, police said.
Officers entered the apartment and confirmed that Yusufi had shot himself. A hazardous materials team spent hours removing chemicals, including acetone and liquid drain cleaner used to make Ecstasy.
Authorities found 7,000 tablets later identified as Ecstasy, a club drug similar to methamphetamine. The pills would sell for $84,000 on the street, Piastro said.
"With all the chemicals and glassware on the premises, the lab could produce 150,000 more tablets," Piastro said. "Labs this size are very rare (in San Diego County)."
He said the DEA continues to investigate, hoping to learn how long Yusufi may have been producing illegal drugs and how he distributed them.
Yusufi was not under investigation by the DEA before the events Oct. 7, Piastro said.
Thanks stillproud2befree for that update.
He could have had a great life except he blew it all away -- literally.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=ecstasy&ie=UTF-8
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http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/10/14/news/news04.txt
"Sergeants tip leads to big drug bust"
By Skagit Valley Herald staff
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Four people have been arrested and are charged in U.S. District Court in Seattle with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute ecstasy.
The DEA didnt release the defendants names.
The bust was the largest drug seizure that the Oak Harbor Police Department has participated in, police Chief Stephen Almon said. Sterkel is a 30-year veteran with the department."