A man found dead inside a mechanic shop Monday morning had apparently been inhaling Freon, a substance abuse process known as "huffing."
Police on Tuesday identified the man as John David Lawson, 40. Employees at Gene's Front End Repair on Ford Chapel Road discovered him dead in the office after arriving at work.
<!--endtext--><!--begintext-->A black garbage bag found over Lawson's head with a can of Freon inside led police to believe he was huffing at the time of his death, according to Lt. David Young, Lufkin Police spokesman.
Lawson's last known address appears to be in Lufkin. Young said investigators do not believe Lawson was murdered.
"We can't say this was an accident but we can't call it a suicide either," Young said.
Sudden death can occur when inhaling chemicals to get high, particularly air conditioning coolant, according to the inhalant abuse Web site inhalant.org.
"Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome is usually associated with cardiac arrest. The inhalant causes the heart to beat rapidly and erratically, resulting in cardiac arrest," the site states.
Police are waiting for final autopsy results to make a determination how Lawson died, Young said.
Lawson had been working at the shop for three months, according to employee Brad Mitchell. Owner Gene Albritton's son found Lawson sleeping at the shop Saturday. They told him to leave and not return, Mitchell said.
He broke back into the shop sometime over the weekend and Albritton found him dead in the office when he went to turn the air conditioner on Monday morning.
Source: http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/06/17/Genes_dos.html
