Man Injured in Drug-Related Explosion Dies
***Updated 5:48 p.m.***
A 30-year-old man who was injured in a drug-related explosion last week at a Puna home died Thursday at an Oahu hospital.
Police identified the man as Rasi Summers.
Summers, who had sustained third-degree burns, died at 5:20 p.m. at Straub Medical Center, police said.
The explosion which occurred Dec. 28 on 17th Avenue in Hawaiian Paradise Park knocked out windows, blew doors off cabinets and melted plumbing fixtures.
Investigating officers found evidence of a lab used to make butane honey oil, a concentrated form of marijuana also known as BHO. They also found more than an ounce of BHO in various stages of manufacture as well as 102 marijuana plants in an indoor growing operation.
A 28-year-old woman who police said also lived in the home was arrested Monday, Dec. 30, on suspicion of various drug charges. The woman, Savannah Maloof, was released Tuesday pending further investigation.
According to Lt. Mark Farias of the department’s vice section, BHO labs are becoming more prevalent on the Big Island, as they are across the nation.
“If you know about any butane honey oil labs on our island, we urge you to notify police immediately,” Farias said. “These labs are extremely volatile and can have tragic consequences for knowing participants as well as innocent victims.”
Anyone with information on such operations is asked to call the police department at 935-3311.