LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — FBI testing has revealed what kind of materials were being stored inside the garage of an east Las Vegas home where law enforcement investigated a possible illegal biological laboratory last month.
In a statement to Channel 13, FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Christopher Delzotto outlined what investigators found inside the garage — and the concerns the discovery has raised about possible fraud or other criminal violations.
Drone video shows law enforcement searching the home in late January:
Samples taken from the home on Sugar Springs Drive were taken to an FBI lab in Maryland for testing, law enforcement officials said previously. Delzotto says the testing determined most of the items investigators recovered are consistent with components used to develop medical diagnostic test kits.
Investigators also recovered "components you would find in the Influenza A & B vaccines," Delzotto said, as well as "older influenza samples; however, full genetic sequencing confirmed they were not new or engineered variants and there is no indication of an ongoing threat to public health at this time."
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While we've learned more about what the suspected laboratory contained, Delzotto notes that the potential origin of the recovered materials could be another cause for concern.
He says investigators found "numerous biological samples bearing personally identifiable information associated with area medical facilities, raising concerns related to the acquisition and possession of those materials and potential fraud or other criminal violations."
What's still not clear in all of this is why the materials were there in the first place.
Links between the home in east Las Vegas and a man accused of operating an illegal biological lab in Reedley, California, have sparked more questions amid the ongoing investigation.
In documents obtained by Channel 13, investigators noted that the owner of the home, a Chinese citizen known as David He, had sought to open a medical laboratory in Las Vegas, but the plans were abandoned. Investigators speculated materials stored in the Sugar Springs garage may have been left over from that endeavor, or from He's activities in Reedley.
"Based on the totality of the investigation, there are no legitimate reasons for maintaining these types of biological materials within a private residence, or in the manner in which they were stored," Delzotto stated.
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Ori Solomon, who managed He's properties in Las Vegas, was arrested in connection with the local investigation. He is accused of improperly disposing of hazardous materials. Federal prosecutors have also charged Solomon with the illegal possession of multiple guns, which were found in his home during the investigation. As an Israeli citizen in the U.S. on a work visa, Solomon is prohibited from owning a firearm.
He is in federal custody in California and awaits trial for charges connected to the illegal biological lab in Reedley.
