1 of 3 | Daniel Kowalski's mother says the equipment authorities identified as methamphetamine manufacturing materials was actually for making wine. Photo courtesy of the Cook County Sheriff's Office
However, Kowalski's mother, Jan Kowalski, said her son was not making methamphetamine when police raided his home in unincorporated La Grange Highlands in February 2014.
The mother said the items identified by police as inactive meth lab equipment -- glass beakers, burners and chemicals -- had another purpose.
"He had winemaking equipment," Jan Kowalski told the Chicago Tribune.
She said her son used the equipment recently to manufacture two batches of wine.
Kowalski, who was previously arrested for operating a meth lab at his home in July 2013, was wearing a "Los Pollos Hermanos" T-shirt inspired by the meth-themed TV series Breaking Bad when he posed for his mug shot in 2014.
