A Coupeville man arrested for starting a drug lab in a couple’s home without their knowledge is going to prison.

In May, Clinton Wood pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court to manufacturing of the drug MDMA, residential burglary and possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Wood was back in court Monday for sentencing.

Wood was arrested in January after a North Whidbey resident who was out of state noticed unusually high electricity bills and asked a neighbor to check his house. The neighbor found what looked like a drug lab in a basement bathroom and called the cops.

A deputy caught Wood going into the house. He said his mother was the “cleaning lady” and allowed him to take showers in the house since he didn’t have running water, according to the deputy’s report.

In court, Wood’s attorney, Steve McKay, noted that it wasn’t a meth lab, as investigators initially feared.

But Wood wasn’t making botanical soaps either, as he originally claimed to investigators. Lab results showed that one of the chemicals was “safrole oil,” a precursor to MDMA, a drug also known as “molly.”

McKay said his client was immediately remorseful and asked if he could apologize to the homeowners. Still, the attorney conceded it was “an enormously foolish thing to do.”

Deputy Prosecutor Chris Anderson said Wood has no major criminal history. He said that Wood’s lab was in the early stages of production, though he said it could have caused damage to the house.

Under terms of a plea bargain, the prosecution and defense recommended a sentence of a year and four months, plus $1,500 in restitution.

Judge Hancock agreed.

Wood begins his sentence next week. He explained in court that he’s been working since his release in order to support his mother and sister. He said he wanted to “set them up” before going to prison.