News Release
April 12, 2004

Seattle Man Pleads Guilty to
Attempted Manufacture of LSD
* * * * * *
Chemicals and Manufacturing Equipment
Seized at his Capitol Hill Residence

John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington announced that today GLENN C. SLAYDEN, age 37, of Seattle, entered a guilty plea in United States District Court in Seattle to one count of Attempted Manufacture of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD). SLAYDEN faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of 20 years, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Coughenour in Seattle on June 25, 2004. As part of the plea agreement, SLAYDEN will also forfeit $100,000 in cash in lieu of his million-dollar Capitol Hill home, which was subject to forfeiture in its entirety as property used to facilitate the commission of the drug offense.

Court records show that between October, 2003, and January 29, 2004, SLAYDEN engaged in a series of recorded internet and telephone communications with a United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant in an attempt to purchase ergotamine tartrate, a List I controlled chemical which is an essential chemical in the manufacture of LSD. On February 5, 2004, an undercover DEA Agent posing as the ergotamine tartrate delivery person contacted SLAYDEN and stated that he was at a downtown Seattle hotel and that he had the “package.” SLAYDEN came straight to the hotel and approached the undercover agent, and was subsequently arrested.

Court documents also show that on the same day, DEA agents executed a Federal search warrant at SLAYDEN’s home on 10th Avenue East in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle. Agents discovered numerous items consistent with an attempt to create an LSD laboratory, including chemicals, laboratory equipment, glassware, and reference books containing instructions for the manufacture of LSD. Based on the amount and nature of the precursor chemicals SLAYDEN possessed or attempted to obtain, the nature, size, and sophistication of the laboratory equipment in his possession, and his presumed level of knowledge, the evidence suggests that he was capable of producing at least 800 milligrams but less than 1 gram of LSD. According to DEA agents, a typical single dose of LSD is approximately 50 -100 micrograms.

The manufacture of LSD can result in emission of hazardous materials. As a precaution, the DEA and other authorities instituted hazardous materials protocols during the search, blocking off the street for several hours in order to ensure the safety of law enforcement officers and the public. Units from the Seattle Fire Department and Seattle Emergency Medical Services were stationed on scene to support the execution of the search warrant, which was conducted by specially trained agents in the King County and DEA Clandestine Laboratory Teams. All potentially contaminated materials were destroyed after the search, and no dangerous emissions were detected at the scene.

This case was investigated by special agents with the DEA, Seattle Field Division along with the valuable assistance of agents and investigators from the Seattle Police Department, Eastside Narcotics Task Force and King County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Vogel.

For further information, please contact Lawrence Lincoln, Press Spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4127 or Thomas P. O'Brien, DEA Public Information Officer at 509-353-2906.