MARCH 19, 2015
MISSOULA, MONTANA (AP)
An 18-year-old Missoula woman has been given a three-year
deferred sentence for a drug-making explosion at a University of Montana
apartment last October that injured her and her 19-month-old daughter.
District Judge Ed McLean sentenced Virginia Marie Ervin
Wednesday for tampering with evidence and child endangerment. If she meets the
court’s conditions, she could have the conviction removed from her record.
Prosecutors say Ervin remained in the apartment with her daughter
despite knowing her boyfriend was using butane to extract hash oil from
marijuana. An explosion blew out the windows and burned all three people in the
apartment.
Court records say Patrick Austin called Ervin from jail and
asked her to retrieve a backpack from the apartment that contained drugs, cash
and a cellphone. Austin has denied five felony charges and remains jailed.
//-----------------------------//
MISSOULA MAN ARRESTED AFTER 3 BURNED IN EXPLOSION. SOMEONE WAS USING BUTANE TO MAKE HASH OIL
FROM MARIJUANA WHEN THE EXPLOSION HAPPENED
OCTOBER 13, 2015
MISSOULA, MONTANA
Three people, including a child, suffered burns in an
apparent drug-related explosion at a University of Montana-owned apartment.
Missoula police arrested 24-year-old Patrick Wayne Austin on
a $20,000 burglary warrant, but they say he also is suspected in the blast.
Police say someone in the apartment was using butane to make
hash oil from marijuana when the explosion happened at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday,
blowing out three windows in the second-story apartment.
Austin suffered second-degree burns, while an 18-year-old
woman and a 19-month-old child suffered first-degree burns.
Missoula County jail records indicate Austin also was
arrested on suspicion of two criminal endangerment charges, three drug charges
and arson. His bail was preliminarily set at $300,000. Austin is scheduled to
appear in Justice Court on Tuesday, Lt. Scott Brodie said.
The 18-year-old woman who was injured is a University of
Montana student who rented the apartment and is responsible for the damages
because Austin was her guest, UM spokeswoman Peggy Kuhr said. The apartment is
about nine blocks from campus.
“No drugs of any kind are allowed in UM family housing,”
Kuhr told KGVO-AM. “In this case, the actions of the student, who is the
tenant, will be reviewed under the Student Conduct Code, and that will be
referred to the Dean of Students.”
Penalties could include expulsion from the university, Kuhr
said.
The female student has not been identified and was not
immediately charged with any crime. Officials with Child Protective Services
were notified, Brodie said.
//-------------------------------------------//
OCTOBER 14, 2015
The Missoula man who allegedly caused an explosion at a
university apartment Sunday afternoon in an attempt to extract hash oil from
marijuana will remain in Missoula County jail pending $50,000 bail.
Patrick Wayne Austin, 24, appeared in Missoula County
Justice Court Tuesday with fresh burns spotting his cheeks. He faces five
felony charges for Sunday’s explosion, including criminal production of
dangerous drugs, two counts of criminal possession dangerous drugs with intent
to distribute, criminal endangerment and criminal child endangerment.
Austin is not a University of Montana student, but was
living in the residence with Virginia Ervin, who is a student at the
university, and Ervin’s 19-month-old child. All three occupants were injured in
the explosion and were treated at a hospital for second- and third-degree
burns.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a misdemeanor charge of child criminal
endangerment was filed against Ervin, who apparently stayed in the residence
with her child when Austin started the dangerous – and illegal – process of
using butane to extract hash oil. The complaints filed against the pair allege
Ervin knew that Austin had been injured extracting hash oil in the past.
According to charging documents filed by Deputy County
Attorney Jason Marks, Missoula police and firefighters responded to the
explosion around 4 p.m. Sunday at 1010 Yreka Court and found the apartment’s
windows shattered and pieces of glass littering the lawn. Marijuana buds were
also scattered around the apartment.
When firefighters entered the residence, they found and
switched off a hotplate on the stove with a Pyrex baking dish on top. Police also
observed a case of butane canisters sitting inside the apartment.
Upon entering the apartment, police found 1.67 pounds of
marijuana, 8.3 grams of hash oil, a half-pound of psilocybin mushrooms, $2,200
in cash, a rifle, a respirator and two boxes of butane containers.
Police also investigated Austin’s Facebook page and noticed
numerous public posts describing his involvement in selling hash oil products,
like the following post dated Oct. 7.
“Its been a productive day and its not over yet. I will have
multiple kinds of edibles on deck by tomorrow. I also have 7 flavors on deck I
hope by tomorrow it will be 8 or possibly 9. Stoked. Grind hard friends because
hard work does pay off,” he wrote.
When Austin was interviewed at the hospital, he denied his involvement
with the production of hash oil, claiming that he had ceased producing the
substance after he set a shed on fire.
“Austin claimed that a gas leak must have caused the
explosion,” the affidavit stated. “He said that the cases of butane in the apartment
were because he buys in bulk to refill his lighter.”
But Ervin admitted that Austin had been using butane to
extract hash oil from marijuana at the time of the explosion. She told police
that she normally leaves the apartment when he extracts the hash oil, but this
time she was tired and took her daughter into the other room to watch
television.
About 15 to 30 minutes after Austin started the process, she
heard a loud “whoosh sound” and looked up to see the kitchen on fire. Her hair
and her child’s hair caught fire in the explosion, the affidavit stated.
Austin appeared without an attorney during his initial
appearance Tuesday. He told Justice of the Peace Karen Orzech he wanted to get
a job and become a “productive member of society.”
“Well that’s a rather standard answer,” Orzech said.
“I’m just not currently happy with my position in life, as
the choices I have been making, so I want to change that,” he replied. “And
it’s not just because I am in jail.”
Orzech set bail at $50,000, which is to run consecutively
with a $20,000 burglary warrant out of Flathead County.
If he is released, Austin is prohibited from contacting
Ervin and the child. Orzech also ordered him not to return to 1010 Yreka Court.
His preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 28 at 4 p.m.