Meth Lab discovered at apartment on Almaden border
By Barbara Luis
Staff Writer

San Jose police say a concerned neighbor may have saved some lives by alerting them to
the presence of a suspected methamphetamine lab in a usually quiet apartment complex. Last Friday afternoon, Sept. 26, authorities rushed to the Avalon Apartment complex located on Foxchase Drive, which borders Almaden Expressway and Highway 85 across from Chevys. There they discovered resident Christopher Scott McKee, 35, holed up inside his apartment and refusing repeated requests to come out. The anonymous neighbor told police they detected a suspicious smell coming from McKee's apartment, then saw him walk outside wearing a pair of heavy gloves.
Police immediately evacuated approximately one dozen nearby residents in case of a possible fire and/or explosion of the alledged drug lab's combustible ingredients.
Within the hour, the suspect's father talked his son into working with investigators and he left the apartment without incident.
McKee was subsequently questioned and arrested in connection with a suspected meth lab authorities say they discovered inside his apartment. The suspect has no prior arrest record. Investigators say they remain unsure whether he could have been processing the powder form of the drug into its more powerful and pricier version, crystal meth.

McKee was arraigned earlier this week on back-to-back felony counts. He pleaded not guilty to two charges of possession of chemicals to produce methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to manufacture. He remains in Santa Clara County Jail on an undisclosed amount of bail. His next court appearance is set for
later this month.

Investigators say most meth labs are set up in remote areas because of the identifiable smell and the propensity for explosion and fire. Current statistics indicate drug lab busts in Santa Clara County have dropped in half just over the last year, from 80 labs discovered in 2001-2002, to just 40 in the past 12 months. Police say it's most likely due to drug users shifts from the powdered variety of meth to its crystalline form, which produces a more powerful high.