Three people were arrested Saturday after authorities responded to a home where suspects cooking methamphetamine set off a “small explosion,” police said.
Before the arrests, two of the three suspects refused to come out of the home, even after police set off a “chemical irritant” inside in hopes of flushing them out, Littleton police said in a news release.
Eventually, SWAT members dressed in protective clothing and gear stormed the home.
The incident began at about 11 a.m. at 6187 S. Sterne Parkway, police said. When police arrived, the occupants locked the doors and windows and refused to come out.
Eventually one man, Ronald Yoshida, 37, came out of the home and was “decontaminated” for “chemical exposure” by the Littleton Fire Department.
SWAT members took Michelle Lynne Buffington, 28, and another man into custody after storming the home. The man originally identified himself as Joseph Monteleone, 43, but police said fingerprints identified him as Curtis Dale Barb, 45. He now faces a charge related to providing a false identity.
They also were decontaminated by firefighters, as were SWAT members who entered the home.
Methamphetamine was recovered at the scene as well as chemicals used to manufacture the drug.
Yoshida and Barb were arrested on suspicion of possession and manufacturing methamphetamine and were being held at Arapahoe County Jail.
Buffington was arrested and cited for failure to leave a premises upon the request of a peace officer, a misdemeanor.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
