REEDLEY, Calif. (KFSN) — Four years after the discovery of an illegal biolab in Reedley, city leaders say the final materials remaining inside the building are expected to be removed and destroyed next week.
State health officials are scheduled to arrive Monday morning at the former lab site at I Street and 10th Street to remove the remaining materials inside the building. The California Department of Public Health received clearance from the Superior Court to dispose of the items, which city officials say include illicit testing kits such as pregnancy tests and COVID-19 tests.
“It feels so good to be able to close the book on this incident,” said Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba.
According to Zieba, the testing kits were kept at the building as evidence during the criminal case against Jia Bei Zhu, who also referred to himself as David He.
“These test kits were really the subject of the prosecution of Jia Bei Zhu. So they had to stay at that building until a court released it,” Zieba said.
The illegal lab was discovered in December 2022 after a code violation at the property prompted an inspection. Authorities found thousands of vials of biological material, including potential pathogens such as HIV, malaria and COVID-19. Investigators identified He as the person operating the facility.
“We were a short stop on the way for him while he was waiting for a building to be built in Fresno. So the materials that he had, some we can trace, were in his possession for decades,” Zieba said.
Earlier this year, authorities in Las Vegas searched a home believed to be owned by He. Officials in hazardous materials suits examined multiple refrigerators, a freezer containing vials and storage containers holding unknown liquids.
“As our investigation progressed, we determined that home was owned by an individual connected to a prior illegal lab investigation in Reedley, California,” said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill back in February of this year.
He, a Chinese national, was found guilty on 12 counts. His sentencing, which had been scheduled for October, was delayed.
City officials say the building is owned by a Bay Area property owner who is not facing criminal charges. Zieba said the owner previously reimbursed the city for cleanup efforts associated with the site.
“A little while ago, probably about over a year ago, the property owner wrote the city a check for about, if I can recall, $300,000 for all of the remediation that we had in that building,” Zieba said.
Zieba said city officials have continued communicating with the property owner about future plans for the property. Once the remaining materials are removed, city leaders say they will be properly destroyed, marking another step toward putting the biolab case behind the community.
One lane of traffic near the site is expected to be closed while workers remove the remaining testing kits.
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Source: abc30.com
