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Drug maker blows up his own home
RARE OFFENCE: Stephen Lapping.
A Leeds man suffered horrific burns and caused £20,000 of damage when he blew his home up trying to produce cannabis oil using butane gas.
Stephen Lapping, 37, was spared a jail sentence yesterday (January 25) after a court heard he was trying to produce ‘butane honey oil’ in the kitchen of his home in Leeds.
The substance is created by forcing butane gas into the waste leaves from cannabis plants, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Lapping had more than 100 cans of the gas at his house on Aysgarth Place, Richmond Hill, when the explosion happened on December 10, 2010.
The force of the explosion blew the windows out of the property and a child was injured when the fireplace in the house next door collapsed.
Phillip Adams, prosecuting, said the offence was so rare there was no relevant case law and the police initially had no idea what caused the explosion.
Lapping, who works in the construction industry operating plant machinery, suffered burns to his arms and legs in the explosion.
It was caused when he accidentally bumped into the cooker and pressed the ignition as he tried to hide what he was doing from his stepson.
Police initially thought the explosion had been caused by a gas leak but none of the supply pipes had been damaged.
Officers later discovered butane gas canisters and waste leaves from cannabis plants in his shed and began to investigate further.
A forensic scientist later concluded that the explosion had been caused by the gas being ignited in the kitchen.
Lapping, who initially refused to comment to the police, later admitted he had been trying to produce the oil in a bid to save money for Christmas.
The court heard the substance can be smoked and has a stronger effect than skunk cannabis. Lapping told officers someone he knew had told him about it and his partner and stepson were unaware of what he was doing.
He pleaded guilty to criminal damage being reckless to whether life was endangered, possession of cannabis and attempting to produce cannabis oil.
Andrew Stanrex, for Lapping, said the defendant had been upset to hear that a child next door had suffered minor injuries.
He said the process of extracting the oil was only supposed to be done outdoors and he would not have done it had he known the risks.
He added: “What he was trying to do was stupid and the consequences of it had a significant impact on him.”
Judge Sally Cahill, describing the offence as “extremely unusual”, gave Lapping a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to do 300 hours unpaid work and placed on a curfew for six months.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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