JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A methamphetamine lab was discovered after police responded to a home on Riverdale Road near Lakeshore Boulevard, in the Lakeshore area, Sunday afternoon to reports of a man who had been stabbed, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The unnamed victim, with visible injuries on his face, took officers to a home where he said he was attacked.
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Officers at the scene said they followed a trail of blood droplets to a shed behind the home, where they found a methamphetamine lab.
Eight people were detained -- seven adults and a 15-year-old.
Police made four arrests, including of a couple on child neglect and methamphetamine manufacturing charges. The couple was held on $200,000 bond each on the felony charges, charges against them and a third person were dropped.
Katrina Gay, who lives nearby, said police first came to her house by mistake and then went next door and started making arrests. She and her daughter-in-law have been having problems with the occupants of the house for some time and were glad to see police in the neighborhood Sunday night.
“Oh, I am happy. I am thrilled,” Gay said. “We have been trying to get somebody in here for about a year and a half. We've had a lot of traffic. Anywhere from 11 o'clock to five in the morning -- people coming in and out of that house over there. In and out, in and out. We had guns go off. We've seen people over there with rifles.”
Because of the meth lab discovery, several nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution, though officers said there was no danger and the neighbors were allowed to return to their homes.
Detectives said they were given addresses of other homes in the area believed to be sources of drugs.
The homeowner told News4Jax on Monday that he is trying to figure out what happened, and then asked us to leave the property.
Police said the home is the center of a bigger problem in the Lakeshore area, and they are continuing their investigation.
How can neighbors identify a potential meth lab?
The discovery of the meth lab has led to tips that could take police to other suspected labs in the Lakeshore area.
Investigators told News4Jax that they are treating the home on Riverdale Road as ground zero, then working outward to locate other nearby labs that could be putting neighbors at risk.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith explained how neighbors can identify a potential meth lab, simply by using their sense of smell and sight.
WATCH: How neighbors can identify potential meth lab
"First, you're going to notice odors or chemical smells -- like, maybe, ammonia or vinegar -- coming from the house," Smith said.
A bad smell combined with boards or paper covering windows is also a sign that something illegal may be happening inside. Fast-moving foot traffic in and out of the home is also a sign. But Smith said that spotting a neighbor putting trash bags in a car is a major red flag.
"They'll transport their garbage. They'll put it in a trunk and dump it some place," he said. "That way, people can't notice the odor as much from the garbage because it's not there."
Smith said anyone who notices those signs and is truly suspicious can contact police with an anonymous tip. If it turns out be a meth house, neighbors who are worried that they may have been exposed to chemicals in the air should see a doctor to make sure they're OK.