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Police Raid Suspected Meth Lab In Canonsburg

CANONSBURG (KDKA) -- A quiet neighborhood in Canonsburg was disrupted Thursday morning when police, firefighters and Hazmat crews converged on a house with a suspected meth lab inside.

Authorities say the suspect was under house arrest while allegedly running the lab.

It all happened in the 500-block of Franklin Avenue, and neighbors watched in disbelief as the raid went down, some of whom took photos and video during the bust.

A Canonsburg councilman lives just two doors down. He's a veteran and he saw the whole thing.

"It was really cool to see something like that live 'cause I was in the military. I was in Iraq for 18 months. We trained to do the same situation," said John Severine, a councilman.

Dangerous chemicals were removed from the house and it wasn't all smooth.

"They crashed in. They knocked the door down, and they went inside," said Severine.

Once inside, police nabbed 32-year-old Jesse Lewandowski. He was already in trouble with the law, on parole and under house arrest.

Now some are wondering how he could be operating a suspected meth lab.

Severine: "If he has a probation officer, and they check on him like they're supposed to, they probably would of found out he was having a meth lab in the house."

KDKA's Paul Martino: "Think he slipped through the cracks?"

Severine: "Probably."

But it all ended safely. A great outcome, considering meth labs can be highly explosive.

"It can be very dangerous, depends on the quality of the meth and that," Severine said. "I'm not an expert. It could blow up. Take two or three blocks out."

Authorities say a local hardware store alerted police to suspicious behavior when they became concerned about some of the material Lewandowski was purchasing.

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