APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A swarm of federal, state and local authorities spent Thursday at an Appleton apartment complex due to some suspicious chemicals found inside a south side apartment.
It began as a routine call for a break-in to the apartment in the 2600 block of S. Kerry Lane at 12:03 a.m.
Upon arrival, officers found a 32-year-old man had broken into a neighbor’s apartment and grabbed a woman inside. The woman was not hurt, but the man identified by police as Steven A. Meyer said an episode with oxycodone caused him to act the way he did.
“He was not fully clothed, he was in boxers. His behavior indicated that he had taken some type of controlled substance prior to the incident taking place,” said Appleton Police Sgt. David Lund.
Officers on scene performed a safety check of Meyer’s apartment, as part of their investigation. That’s when they found chemicals, some labeled and some unknown, inside the residence.
“Part of the worry is there is a large number of containers that have been found some of them that don’t have clear markings to indicate what they are,” Lund said.
Police called for the Wisconsin National Guard Unit from Madison to help with identifying the substances. The 54th Civil Support Team is trained to help identify toxic industrial chemicals.
“Many of the chemicals can be easily obtained off the Internet, but the reality is many households are not going to have these types of chemicals,” Lund said.
No one in the apartment complex had to be evacuated.
Lund says that Meyer is familiar to law enforcement agencies throughout the Fox Cities. What his intentions were for the collection of chemicals he had is part of their current investigation.
Meyer is behind bars in Winnebago County on recommended charges of attempted burglary, criminal damage to property and trespassing. More charges could be added.
The lesson according to Lund, however, is for Meyer’s neighbors. If you see something, say something.
“We’ve talked with people throughout the day who gave us statements to indicate they thought something was going on in that apartment, yet to a person, no one gave us a call,” says Lund. “This is the reason why we ask people to call us, to have us go check things out, because their instincts are probably correct.”
