Potential Biological Lab Found in Las Vegas Garage, Property Manager Arrested as More than 1,000 Samples Sent for Testing

Over 1,000 samples of potentially hazardous materials were recovered from a Las Vegas home over the weekend, prompting a joint law enforcement and public health response.

“Just a little over a week ago, LVMPD received limited information indicating that laboratory equipment and potentially hazardous materials were being stored at a residence in the northeast part of our town,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a press conference on Monday, Feb. 2.

As the investigation developed, authorities determined the home on Sugar Springs Drive was owned by the same individual tied to a prior illegal biolab investigation in Reedley, Calif., in 2023.

That individual is already in federal custody on charges related to the California investigation, according to an LVMPD press release, and has pleaded not guilty, per ABC News.

Police also announced the arrest of another suspect, 55-year-old Ori Solomon, the property manager of the location. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges of disposing of and discharging hazardous waste.

Solomon has also been charged with prohibited person in possession of a firearm, per a federal criminal complaint reviewed by authorities.

Investigators said a search of the residence found the garage was the “primary location of the potential biological and hazardous materials.”

“Almost immediately, investigators observed multiple refrigerators, a freezer, and other laboratory-type equipment along with numerous bottles and jugs containing unknown liquid substances,” McMahill said. “These items, importantly, were consistent in appearance to the items found and described in the Reedley, Calif. lab investigation.”

When investigators opened one of the refrigerators and freezers, they found what McMahill described as a “significant volume of material,” including various vials and storage containers holding liquids of different colors and compositions. Additional containers, along with laboratory equipment and other specialized items, were located throughout the garage, he said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Delzotto said investigators identified a “biosafety hood, a biosafety sticker, a centrifuge, multiple refrigerators, red-brown unknown liquids in gallon-sized containers, and refrigerated vials with unknown liquids” during the initial search.

According to KLAS, citing court documents, one person living in the home said the garage was always locked, while another described the space as smelling “like a hospital – not like a clean hospital but more of a foul, stale, stagnant air smell.”

The same documents said that several days after entering the garage, two people became “deathly ill” and “could not get out of bed,” per KLAS.

Delzotto said “more than a thousand samples were collected, stored safely, and secured safely at the Southern Nevada Health District Laboratory.” He added that early Monday, the samples were loaded onto an FBI aircraft for transport to the National Bioforensic Analysis Center in Maryland.

McMahill said officials have completed remediation efforts and emphasized there is no ongoing threat.

“I want to reassure you that everything has been remediated and there’s no safety concern in the house or the neighborhood,” he said.

Delzotto acknowledged the public may have questions about what investigators are looking for, but said the response requires a careful process.

“We recognize that the public is seeking clarity. What were they testing for? What possibilities are being considered?” Delzotto said. “However, as the sheriff mentioned in cases like this, our process relies on being slow and methodical, from the collection of evidence to the testing of the samples.”