Investigators say the materials, found in a house garage, are now at an FBI lab for testing.
LAS VEGAS, NV — A second suspect was taken into custody as local and federal authorities wrapped a three-day search of a northeast Las Vegas home described as a possible illegal biological laboratory, officials said Monday, after collecting more than 1,000 items of potential evidence.
Investigators with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI said the evidence — vials, liquids and lab equipment — was recovered between Saturday morning and early Monday from a residence on Sugar Springs Drive. The case drew heightened attention because the home is owned by a person already facing federal charges in an earlier California “biolab” case, though authorities emphasized there is no known threat to nearby residents. The materials have been flown to an FBI laboratory for analysis, a process officials said will be careful and methodical.
Authorities began the operation around 8 a.m. Saturday and concluded evidence collection by Sunday evening, with teams returning Monday to brief the public. Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the search focused on a locked garage where agents found multiple refrigerators and a freezer containing unlabeled liquids of varying colors, along with a biosafety hood and a centrifuge. “The scene presented a high level of complexity with materials that have not yet been identified and still require careful assessment,” McMahill said. Christopher Delzotto, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Las Vegas, called the work “slow and methodical,” adding that every sample requires documentation, packaging and chain-of-custody procedures before scientific testing begins.
Officials identified the person arrested during the weekend as Ori Solomon, 55, described as the property manager for the Sugar Springs address and a related property on Temple View Drive. McMahill said Solomon was booked on a felony count of disposing or discharging hazardous waste in an unauthorized manner. Delzotto said more than 1,000 biological samples or items were cataloged for testing and temporarily staged at the Southern Nevada Health District before being shipped to an FBI lab. Authorities also noted that three people renting rooms at the Sugar Springs house were safely removed during the search and are not considered suspects at this time. What exactly the seized substances are remains unknown pending laboratory analysis.
The house is linked through ownership to a man charged in 2023 in a separate case involving an unlicensed laboratory in Reedley, Calif. That owner remains in federal custody and has pleaded not guilty in the earlier matter, which involved allegations of misbranding medical testing kits. McMahill said items found in the Las Vegas garage were similar in appearance to materials described in the California case, including refrigerators with vials and gallon containers holding discolored liquids. Investigators have not said how long the Las Vegas equipment may have been in place, who handled the materials, or whether any pathogens were present. Officials reiterated that monitoring during the operation detected no danger to the neighborhood.
Neighbors reported seeing a heavy law enforcement presence over the weekend as armored response units, hazmat crews and federal agents cycled through the home in protective gear. Crews used robots and air monitoring devices before making entries and followed strict decontamination steps on exit, according to McMahill. Delzotto said the breadth of the evidence — from small vials to larger containers and specialized gear — required multiple carefully controlled entries. “From the collection of evidence to the testing of the samples, the process … requires systemized, measured steps that cannot be rushed,” Delzotto said. Fire officials coordinated with police on hazardous materials handling while the FBI oversaw evidence packaging for shipment.
Property records show the Sugar Springs residence is held by a limited-liability company whose officers include individuals charged in the California test-kit scheme. In that case, federal filings and a congressional report described thousands of samples and supplies labeled with names of diseases, though public health agencies did not verify the contents before the materials were destroyed. Las Vegas investigators said their reference point for the weekend search included those prior descriptions as they documented what they found locally. They emphasized, however, that the Las Vegas case stands on its own facts, which will be determined by laboratory testing and any warrants or complaints filed in Nevada federal court.
In addition to the hazardous-waste count at the county level, court records indicate Solomon faces a separate federal complaint related to firearms possession while on a nonimmigrant visa. Investigators reported finding multiple handguns and rifles associated with a room believed to be used by Solomon. A detention hearing and arraignment details were not immediately released Monday night. As for the house owner, officials said he remains in federal custody on the California case and has not been newly charged in Nevada. The FBI declined to estimate when test results may be available, noting each item will be triaged, with priority given to any materials that present an immediate safety question.
The investigation began after a tip about possible hazardous materials at the Sugar Springs address, according to police. A judge approved a search warrant late last week, and agents served it on Saturday with support from the department’s ARMOR unit, the Clark County Fire Department and state partners. Air samples were taken before and during the entries. No evacuations were ordered, and no injuries were reported among responders or residents. As night fell Saturday and again Sunday, trucks ferried sealed coolers and boxes away from the property for logging and transfer to the health district and, ultimately, the FBI laboratory.
By Monday afternoon, the garage stood cordoned with evidence tape as technicians finished their sweep. A few neighbors watched from across the street, some taking videos on their phones. “We saw big coolers going in and out and people in suits,” said Carlos Martinez, who lives nearby. “It was scary at first, but they told us we were safe.” Inside the house, investigators said they documented refrigerators with visible vials and storage containers, including some with red-brown liquids. Elsewhere, they noted standard lab fixtures such as a hood and a centrifuge, plus assorted jugs and bottles. None of the contents have been publicly identified.
Authorities said they will release additional updates once laboratory screenings answer basic questions about the nature of the liquids and any biological risk. The FBI lab will check for chemical and biological signatures and compare container labels, if any, against what is actually inside. If items are found to be benign, they will be turned over to county officials for disposal as evidence or hazardous waste. If any regulated biological agents are detected, federal rules would govern further steps, including potential charges. Investigators in California conducted a follow-up search at the Reedley facility over the weekend, according to city officials there, as part of the broader inquiry.
As of late Monday, police had cleared the Sugar Springs scene and returned the property to the custody of investigators. Solomon remained jailed at the Clark County Detention Center. The FBI kept the case characterization simple: a possible illegal lab, unknown substances, and more than 1,000 items now awaiting analysis. The next public milestone will be any initial court appearance for Solomon and, separately, the first test summaries from the FBI lab.
Author note: Last updated February 3, 2026.