Police Say Royal Crest Resident Set Fire at Work, Planned to Make Cyanide Gas

The HazMat situation at the Royal Crest Estates last week is related to a fire at a local chemical plant allegedly set by an employee with possible mental health issues, police say.

On Sept. 11, employees at Central Metal Finishing on Flagship Drive reportedly noticed a charred sink in the men's room with clothes in it, set on fire.

The next day, the owner of that company watched surveillance takes and saw that the fire was set by Jonathan Morgan, 24, of 34 Royal Crest Drive Apt. 9, North Andover, an employee of the company.

The company's owner Carol Shibles reportedly checked Morgan's locker and found a bag of cyanide sludge as well as clothes, a chain and yellow tape, all covered with cyanide sludge residue.

Shibles owner told police Morgan had shaved his head the night before the fire and was behaving strangely, according to police reports.

Police Officers Mark Wilson and Thomas Driscoll investigated with Fire Investigator Jeff Crosby and discovered that Morgan had stored cyanide sludge hydrochloric acid and a gel cap at his apartment. Morgan, who gave consent to search his apartment, was then taken to Lawrence General Hospital for a mental health evaluation.

At the hospital, Morgan reportedly confessed to setting the fire, saying he set the fire to force the Fire Department to respond so they would see what Morgan called poor working conditions at the plant.

He also reportedly told police he had taken the cyanide sludge and hydrochloric acid from Central Metal Finishing because he wanted to experiment with making cyanide gas. He said he planned to use the cyanide to kill himself.

Police spoke with Morgan's roommate, a longtime friend of Morgan's who said he moved in with Morgan to help him with his depression, according to police reports. The roommate also told police Morgan was paranoid.

On Sept. 18, police went to Holy Family Hospital in Methuen -- to where Morgan had been moved -- and charged him with burning a building. There were no charges related to the cyanide and hydrochloric acid.

Morgan was arraigned Thursday in Lawrence District Court and is held without bail. He is scheduled for a hearing Sept. 27.

According to police reports, a doctor at the hospital recommended Morgan be held until further mental health assessment can be made. District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office requested Morgan be held because of the severity of the crime and his history of mental illness.