A man arrested in connection with a backpack containing what police called an active methamphetamine that was found in the bathroom of an Indiana Walmart apparently doesn’t want officials to get the wrong idea. He admits that yes, the bag was his and yes, there were ingredients in it to make meth. But he wasn’t trying to cook it in the bathroom, he claims.

The 25-year-old suspect arrested this week after a fight with police at a restaurant said he left the backpack in the store because a bottle of drain cleaner in it was leaking through the backpack and burning him, reports The Muncie Press.

But though he admitted to not only leaving the bag there but buying products at the store earlier to buy fuel and tubing to make meth, police say he maintains he wasn’t producing meth in the bathroom.

So far he’s been charged with aiding in the manufacture of meth, dumping controlled substance waste, battery on a police officer and resisting law enforcement, after police say he tried to flee when officers approached him in a Taco Bell restroom.

Meanwhile, the bathrooms at Walmart have remained closed since the incident, by order of the Delaware County Health Department. A Walmart rep said a professional crew had already come through to clean the restrooms, but they can’t reopen until a final round of tests is completed to make sure it’s safe.

Man says he wasn’t cooking meth inside Walmart [The Muncie Press]

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