RivCo Couple Admit Guilt In Honey Oil Lab Explosion

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A man and woman who operated a marijuana honey oil lab that exploded at a Riverside apartment complex, injuring him, pleaded guilty Wednesday to manufacturing illicit drugs.

Lisa Marie Twyman, 44, and Benjamin Andrew Leach, 41, admitted the felony count under separate plea agreements with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of recklessly causing a fire in an inhabited structure against Leach. Twyman only had the one count filed against her.

Superior Court Judge Gail O'Rane certified the terms of the plea deals and immediately sentenced Twyman to 200 days in a sheriff's work release program, during which she'll have to be employed or attending a vocational program full time, as well as 24 months' felony probation.

The judge postponed sentencing for Leach to June 4 for unspecified reasons. He remains free on a $50,000 bond.

The pair's co-defendant, 25-year-old Cutter James Mendonca, pleaded guilty in March 2021 to possession of controlled substances for sale and being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison.

According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, about 6 a.m. March 1, 2021, police and firefighters were sent to the defendants' apartment complex in the 600 block of Central Avenue, near Canyon Crest Drive, to investigate reports of an explosion.

Railsback said the building sustained major damage, but the flames were quickly extinguished.

"Evidence of an illegal (honey oil) lab ... included empty butane canisters, hash oil extract, marijuana plants and other items used in the manufacturing process," Railsback said.

The exact trigger for the explosion was not identified, but because the process of making honey oil entails use of butane gas, almost anything flammable can cause an ignition.

Honey oil, also known as "wax" or "hash," is a liquefied marijuana derivative. Drug lab operators use butane stoves to extract tincture from cannabis plants that can be mixed with anything and bottled.

According to Railsback, along with Twyman's and Leach's apartment, several adjoining units were damaged, and the residents were displaced.

She was taken into custody after rushing Leach to Riverside Community Hospital for treatment. He suffered extensive burn injuries and was later transferred to Arrowhead Regional Burn Center for long-term care and recovery.

Railsback said Mendonca was detained in the apartment complex parking lot, and during a search of the probationer's vehicle, officers "located a concealed firearm and several small bags containing narcotics packaged for sale."

Mendonca had a prior felony conviction for evading arrest. Leach had priors for writing fraudulent checks, battery on a cohabitant and possession of an illegal weapon. Twyman had no documented priors.

Numerous explosions and fires have occurred throughout the Inland Empire as a result of home-based honey oil manufacturing.

The destructive practice prompted the District Attorney's Office in 2017 to release a series of public service announcements, warning of the dangers and consequences of making honey oil.

The series can be found at www.youtube.com/watch, and may be inappropriate to some viewers, the DA's office says.