Police seal home owned by Bell mayor

A rental home on a property owned by the mayor of Bell remained sealed Sunday as law enforcement agents continued their investigation of a suspected methamphetamine lab in the residence.

Mayor Oscar Hernandez said in a phone interview that the two men arrested at the small guest house Saturday by a multi-agency state task force were released later the same morning. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department would not confirm whether the men had been released.

Hernandez, who did not identify the two men, said he rented the house to a couple and their two daughters. He said that the woman was eight months pregnant and that her husband was one of the two men taken into custody. The other man has been in the country for a week and was visiting the couple at the time of the search, he said. The couple’s two daughters, ages 2 and 3, were placed in protective care, authorities said.

Narcotics investigators raided the home in the 3800 block of Bell Avenue about 1:30 a.m. Saturday and found a “super lab” capable of producing 20 pounds of methamphetamine in a single batch, said Deputy Guillermina Saldana.

Hernandez said the couple had been living in the unit for almost a year and had never caused problems. The mayor added that neither he nor his son, who lives in one of the other units on the property, associated with the couple.

Hernandez said the tenant who was arrested told him that the chemicals found by authorities served as glue for tile adhesive. He said the couple has been unable to reenter the house because it remained sealed and were living in their pickup truck.

“I feel sorry for them. They have no food, no money, no clothing,” Hernandez said. “I don’t know, this could be a big mistake.”

Officials from the California Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team did not return a phone call Sunday.

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ruben.vives@latimes.com