MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Long Beach man was indicted for operating a drug lab from his West Beech Street home.
Jovin Weinstock, 41, was arraigned today before Judge Fran Ricigliano and charged with two counts of Unlawful Manufacture of Methamphetamine in the Third Degree (a D felony), Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree (a D felony), Criminal Possession of Precursors of Methamphetamine (an E felony), Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor), Criminal Possession of Methamphetamine Manufacturing Material in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor) and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (an A misdemeanor).
Bail was set at $100,000 cash or $100,000 bond, and the defendant is due back in court on January 13. If convicted, he faces a potential maximum of 2-1/3 to seven years in prison.
“This defendant allegedly ran a clandestine drug lab out of his Long Beach home,” DA Singas said. “I thank the many first responders who secured the chaotic scene and ensured that no one was hurt by the potentially explosive chemicals allegedly found inside the house.”
DA Singas said that on May 10, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Long Beach police officers responded to 324 West Beech Street after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor that a naked man was sleeping in the yard. When they arrived at the home, the officers found the man, defendant Jovin Weinstock, in respiratory distress.
Upon entering his home and detached garage, they allegedly found scientific lab equipment, including glassware, tubing, measuring equipment and a ventilation system. They also allegedly found various chemicals, including acid, denatured alcohol and an unknown substance in a triple neck flask that was being stirred on a lab hotplate.
Specialized teams from multiple law enforcement agencies then responded to the scene, including Nassau Fire Marshalls Hazmat, NCPD Arson-Bomb Squad, State Police C-Cert Unit, the FBI and DEA. An FBI Special Agent Bomb Technician tested the unknown substance and allegedly found it to be a mixture containing nitrotoluene, a substance that can explode under certain conditions.
Following a search warrant on the home, law enforcement also recovered 289 store-bought and packaged tablets of Sudafed, a precursor for the manufacturing of methamphetamine, hand-written chemical equations and notations for the creation of nitrotoluene and methaqualone (Quaaludes), instructions on how to manufacture methamphetamine, store-bought solvents and 15 clonazepam pills.
The defendant has since recovered from his injuries.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Gregory Murphy of DA Singas’ Special Operations, Narcotics and Gangs Bureau is prosecuting this case. Mitchell Barnett, Esq. represents the defendant.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
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