Niles house fire results in child abuse and drug charges, say officials

A house fire that happened at 1119 Stateline Road on September 20^th has resulted in child abuse and drug charges for a Niles man.

Berrien County officials say upon searching the residence of 34-year-old Luther Borders, remnants of a ‘THC extraction lab’ including empty butane fuel cans, a hot plate, and vacuum pump were discovered.

It is alleged that two young girls, ages seven and nine, were present at the time of the explosion and fire.

The girls were not injured in the incident.

According to officials, marijuana extraction or ‘dabbing’ is a process that extracts THC, the hallucinogenic ingredient in marijuana, using liquid butane which is considered an extremely dangerous process.

Borders was arraigned Monday with a bond set at $25,000.