{"id":393516,"date":"2026-07-10T15:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T15:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/393516\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T15:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T15:54:10","slug":"california-teens-home-chemistry-lab-probed-again-by-fbi-hazmat-months-after-prior-investigation-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/393516\/","title":{"rendered":"California teen\u2019s home chemistry lab probed again by FBI, hazmat, months after prior investigation \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal and local hazardous materials crews are once again investigating an Irvine teenager\u2019s home chemistry lab, which prompted a weeklong FBI investigation earlier this year.<\/a><\/p>\n

The current probe, at the family\u2019s current home after neighbors reported suspicious drums in the backyard, could take \u201cmultiple days,\u201d the Irvine Police Department announced on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Orange County Fire Authority hazardous materials crews were dispatched just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 7 for an odor check at a home on Crater in the guard-gated Altair community near the Great Park, according to OCFA Capt. Sean Doran.<\/p>\n

The response comes about five months after the FBI, Orange County Fire Authority, Irvine police and other agencies spent days investigating what authorities at the time described as a homemade science laboratory at the family\u2019s previous house in the same neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The investigation remained ongoing Thursday. In a social media update, Irvine police said the FBI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were \u201ccarefully examining and evaluating materials\u201d at the home and that the work could take several days to complete. The Irvine Police Department and Orange County Fire Authority remained on scene assisting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no known danger to the community at this time,\u201d the department added.<\/p>\n

Charles Ray, the family\u2019s attorney, said the response stemmed from equipment and chemicals associated with the family\u2019s previous home laboratory.<\/p>\n

According to Ray, after the February investigation, the family bought another home in the Altair community and moved equipment and chemical containers to the new residence. He said the FBI confiscated some materials during the earlier investigation but left others behind in large drums and buckets.<\/p>\n

Ray said the family transferred the contents of the containers into cabinets inside the new home, while several drums remained in the backyard. He said a neighbor either noticed the drums or detected an odor and contacted authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are having a complete d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu of the last incident,\u201d Ray said.<\/p>\n

The family was displaced from the home Tuesday and planned to stay in a hotel while authorities investigated, he said.<\/p>\n

\"WhatWhat appears to be 55-gallon drums and a whiteboard sit in the backyard where police and the FBI are responding to a call about a chemical odor coming from a home on Crater in the Altair neighborhood of Irvine on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ray said the materials drawing investigators\u2019 attention were among the equipment and chemicals the FBI examined during its February investigation and left behind when agents completed their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just another misunderstanding,\u201d Ray said.<\/p>\n

The attorney described his client, Amalvin Fritz, as \u201ca mini Einstein, not a criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 18, Fritz had recently graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor\u2019s degree in biological sciences. During interviews following the February investigation<\/a>, Fritz said his research focused on molecular structures with potential pharmaceutical applications and that his long-term goal was to help develop treatments for diseases such as cancer and Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

The earlier investigation began after maintenance workers responding to a leak at the family\u2019s rental home discovered the teenager\u2019s chemistry lab and contacted authorities. The FBI\u2019s Hazardous Evidence Response Team ultimately responded, and investigators spent nearly a week processing the home.<\/p>\n

At the time, authorities said there was no known threat to public safety, and no criminal charges were announced. Fritz and his attorney maintained throughout the investigation that the chemicals had been legally obtained and were being used for legitimate scientific research.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice and the FBI respond to a call about a chemical odor coming from a home on Crater in the Altair neighborhood of Irvine on Thursday, July 9, 2026. It\u2019s the same neighborhood where earlier this year 17-year-old Amalvin Fritz created a lab in the garage of his family\u2019s home causing FBI and hazmat crews to respond. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear Thursday what materials investigators were examining or whether any had been removed from the home. The FBI could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, and Ray could not be reached Thursday afternoon for further comment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federal and local hazardous materials crews are once again investigating an Irvine teenager\u2019s home chemistry lab, which prompted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,723,138,11330,181,1338,100,1492],"class_list":["post-393516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-crime","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-disaster","tag-latest-headlines","tag-morning-wire","tag-news","tag-public-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}