FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A man is accused in federal court of dealing large amounts of methamphetamine in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Damian Mata, of Bloomington, Minnesota, is charged in North Dakota with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He has pleaded not guilty.

Authorities say the ring involved more than 500 grams of meth. A detention hearing for Mata is scheduled Tuesday in Fargo.

A federal public defender could not be reached for comment.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Minnesota man unintentionally created a network for those struggling with addiction when he posted a before-and-after photo of himself on meth on Reddit Tuesday.

User “Minnesotapolis,” identified as Ryan Hader by WMAQ, wrote a post entitled “I quit meth almost a year ago. It’s crazy how much can change” on Reddit Pics. The post shows two side-by-side photos of Hader.

Hader explained he had been sober since April 4 after being in inpatient treatment for seven months.

“One of the greatest things about being clean is that I got to be sober to see my sister have her baby girl. I’m so excited to be an uncle and to be around again. It’s so sweet,” he wrote in the comment thread under his post.

Within hours, the post had garnered over 2,000 comments and had ended up on the front page of the site.

Many of the comments were in support of Hader, but the post also created a forum for other Reddit users to discuss their struggles with addiction.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Farmington man faces several criminal charges for allegedly terrorizing his estranged wife, who is in the process of divorcing him.

The Dakota County Attorney’s Office says Marcus Raymond McGibbon, 34, is charged with stalking him wife and violating a restraining order against him.

McGibbon is also charged with three counts of methamphetamine possession, and a count each of possessing a sawed-off shotgun and committing a crime while wearing a bullet-proof vest.

The criminal complaint says McGibbon’s wife reached out to Farmington police last September to report his threatening and unpredictable behavior.

She told authorities she was trying to divorce him due to domestic violence, his drug use and weapons possession.

McGibbon’s wife waived an initial restraining order she filed against him in order to work out custody arrangements for the couple’s daughter.

But she said she filed for another restraining order after McGibbon started showing up unexpectedly where she was. She then found a GPS device hidden in the wheel well of her car — something he had done once earlier in their marriage.

He was also accused by his wife of sending text messages that contained veiled threats to her and their daughter.

The wife was granted another restraining order in early October, which prevented McGibbon from contact with her and their daughter for two years. McGibbon was seen by deputies in the parking lot of the courthouse on that day, but he never left his car.

When deputies went to his residence to serve the order, they say McGibbon briefly fled into the woods. McGibbon took to Facebook soon after, posting, “Since when did it take 4 deputies to come serve me with court paperwork? I don’t know if I should be offended or take it as a compliment.”

His wife reported to police the very next day that he showed up to where she was shopping and eating. She then found another GPS tracker attached to her car. Two days after that, she saw him parked down the street from her home and called authorities.

Police arrested him without incident, but on the way to jail he requested a padded cell and said he was suicidal.

Investigators found items such as a wig, a black face mask, pepper spray, a knife, a Kevlar vest, binoculars, a video camera, tripod and Gorilla Tape — which matched the tape used to attach GPS trackers to her car.

Footage found on the video camera included parents and children leaving his daughter’s birthday party at a local school, and footage of the outside of his wife’s home. In the latter video, a man’s voice can be heard saying, “I’m not stalking, I’m researching, documenting,” and, “I’d f—ing kill them all if I could. Kill every one of them.”

More than two grams of meth was found in his car, and several pills and meth pipes were found in his home. Several weapons were also seized, including an illegal shotgun.

McGibbon later admitted to investigators that the guns and drugs were all his, and he was responsible for placing GPS devices on her vehicle.

He could face up to 35 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — An Owatonna man surprised officers at the Rice County Jail Wednesday morning during a strip search.

The Rice County Attorney’s Office says Faribault police officers were called to a Days Inn just after 3 a.m. Employees notified police that a smoke alarm in one of the rooms had been triggered several times.

Officers discovered that the man who rented the room, 21-year-old Joshua Patrick Kempe, had a warrant out for his arrest. Kempe was arrested without incident, and other people with him in the room were asked to leave the premises.

Soon after arriving at Rice County Jail, Kempe was informed that a strip search was needed. Officers say Kempe was “nervous” and “fidgety,” and refused to take off his underwear.

Kempe eventually reached into the back of his underwear and pulled out a small plastic bag filled with 15 grams of meth.

He faces one count of second-degree drug possession and a count of introducing contraband into jail. He could face up to 26 years in jail if convicted.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A man who fled police after violating his probation was found hiding under a desk in a Bemidji elementary school Tuesday afternoon.

Bemidji police say 26-year-old Billie Joe Large escaped from custody at the Department of Corrections after he was caught with methamphetamine.

Police say Large ran across the street and into St. Philip’s School on the 700 block of Beltrami Avenue Northwest.

Large was arrested without incident soon after in a third-floor classroom.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Fargo woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to dealing large amounts of methamphetamine in at least three states.

Jada Grace Bahl is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Bahl and two other people connected to the ring were arrested in the Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota, area in June.

Authorities say the 33-year-old Bahl distributed more than 500 grams of meth, primarily in North Dakota, Minnesota and Arizona.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a minimum mandatory term of 10 years. Sentencing is scheduled for June 6.

Bahl’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Austin Police found $45,000 worth of meth during a traffic stop on Monday.

Police pulled over Bonnie Sutton, 34, for driving erratically. After bringing in a K9 unit, police found 28.5 grams of meth, according to Chief Brian Krueger of the Austin Police Department.

Sutton had left a hotel before being pulled over. Police obtained a warrant and searched her room, where they found an additional three quarters of a pound of meth, Krueger said.

Sutton is being held at Mower County jail and charges are pending. There was a passenger in the car, but they have not been identified.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Fillmore County house, which was recently raided in a drug bust, caught fire Friday afternoon.

The sheriff’s office says a fire was reported just before 3:30 p.m. at a property on the 10000 block of County Road 113, near Mabel.

Residents of the home, which boarders Highway 52, said a grass fire had spread to the property.

The same house was the subject of a drug raid four days earlier. Investigators say the house was the center of a methamphetamine manufacturing operation.

Resident Jeffrey George Torgerson, 48, was arrested Monday. His wife, 40-year-old Joan Elizabeth Torgerson, was arrested Thursday in connection with the drug bust.

The couple has already made separate court appearances, and both are being held at the Fillmore County Detention Center.

The sheriff’s office and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office are still investigating the fire.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — A Grand Forks man accused of leading a large drug trafficking operation has been sentenced to life in prison.

A federal jury in May found 38-year-old Jose Delacruz guilty on two counts, including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Authorities say Delacruz distributed large amounts of meth in the Grand Forks area. The charge carried a mandatory life sentence because Delacruz had two prior drug convictions.

Four other defendants accused in the case have received prison sentences ranging between 2½ and 10 years.

Delacruz also was convicted for pistol-whipping a fellow drug dealer in Grand Forks whom Delacruz accused of cooperating with law enforcement.

U.S. Attorney Chris Myers says local and federal authorities worked together to dismantle the drug ring and “stop the violent conduct” by Delacruz.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A man who was originally charged with kidnapping has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing meth.

Kee Thao, of Fargo, was first charged in February for allegedly abducting a woman and holding her against her will for three days. That charge was dropped after he pleaded guilty in May to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson ordered Thao to serve 30 years of supervised release at the end of his prison term.

Prosecutors had asked for a lifetime of supervised release because of Thao’s extensive criminal history, especially involving offenses against women.

A federal public defender could not be reached for comment.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities in northern Wisconsin say that officers arrested five people this earlier week in two meth busts.

The arrests were made Monday following the execution of two search warrants, according to the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office.

The first home searched was in Radisson, Wisconsin, the home of 35-year-old Domminic Haugen. He was arrested on felony bail jumping and suspicion of dealing meth, the sheriff’s office said. He is also suspected of being involved in crimes related to weapons charges.

Also arrested at his home were 53-year-old William Koch, who was on bond, and 23-year-old Theodore Brown, who had violated his probation.

The second home searched was in Exeland, Wisconsin, belonging to 24-year-old Christine Breault. Officers found several packages of meth in her home, as well as meth paraphernalia. She was arrested for violating her probation, suspected meth delivery and child neglect charges.

Also arrested was Terry Meyers, 35, who was seen leaving the home.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Alarming – that’s how law enforcement officials describe the record amount of drugs seized in Minnesota last year.

Public safety officials say that in 2016 officers seized 488 pounds of meth, a 484 percent increase from 2009, when meth seizures were at their lowest levels.

Seizures of prescription pills, including opioids, is also up in 2016. Authorities say officers took more than 58,000 pills off the streets.

“The alarming rate which drugs are being seized in the Twin Cities to greater Minnesota should concern every single Minnesotan,” said Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman at a Monday news conference.

Law enforcement officials say even though the number of meth labs in Minnesota dropped from 410 in 2003 to just 13 last year, the drug continues to be accessible.

“Meth continues to flow into our state,” said Brian Marquart, a drug coordinator with the Department of Public Safety. “It is primarily sourced out of the country of Mexico and makes its way into Minnesota through commercial and private vehicles.”

Meth use is a problem all across the state, both in cities and rural areas.

Faribault, which is 50 miles south of Minneapolis, has seen a 208 percent increase in meth seizures between 2015 and 2016.

“Methamphetamine is really off the charts in Minnesota, we have never seen this before,” said Faribault Police Chief Andy Bohlen.

The seizure of illegal pills that contain synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, jumped dramatically as well, with four times as many seizures in 2016 as compared to 2012.

Officials say most of the illegal pills are shipped to Minnesota from China.

Law enforcement officials are working with the U.S. Postal Service to try to better identify packages containing illegal drugs.

However, Dohman, the commissioner of public safety, says the problem cannot simply be tackled by law enforcement.

She called on parents, educators and the peers of those who take drugs to say enough is enough.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Opioid abuse has made the headlines in Minnesota for quite some time. Now, drug experts say it’s the resurgence of an old drug we should be worried about: meth.

The meth epidemic took the state by storm a decade ago but recent numbers show a troubling trend.

Minnesota’s Violent Crime Enforcement Team seized 112 pounds of meth in 2012 and more than four times that, 487 pounds last year.

From meth labs to meth mouth, the terms were once a part of daily drug news in the early 2000s, but Carol Falkowski says even though the stories have changed, the problem has not.

“The numbers for methamphetamine in Minnesota they’ve never been higher,” Falkowski said.

“Now, all these years later all the numbers exceed where it was at its peak so absolutely we’re talking about epidemic numbers,” she added.

You’ll remember It got so bad before national legislation put daily restrictions on cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth. It also meant those medications moved behind the counter.

The move drastically cut back on meth labs in Minnesota. Records show law enforcement busted several hundred in 2003. Down to just 13 last year.

“So we don’t have the meth lab problem but we still have the meth abuse and meth addiction problem,” Falkowski said.

Falkowski explains how people now get meth from Mexico and Interstate 35 is a direct connection between that country and Canada. Of course, Minnesota is a stop along the way.

The drug is described as a strong stimulant that heightens your alertness and suppresses your appetite. Falkowski has known even stay-at-home mom’s to fall victim as they try to keep up.

“As with any addiction it can happen to anyone,” Falkowski said.

It’s why she believes so strongly in shining the light on the numbers. No matter the drug.

“Whether it’s opioids or methamphetamines we need to address it with prevention, law enforcement and treatment,” she said.

Falkowski believes opioids make more news simply because they have a greater overdose potential. Opioids slow your breathing, while meth has the opposite effect.

BCA Sources:
Methamphetamine Report, 2014Methamphetamine Report, 2015
Methamphetamine Report, 2016
Drug Seizure Numbers, 2012-2016

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A northern Minnesota man facing manslaughter charges in the death of a baby in a house fire last week told investigators that he left the child home alone to buy meth when the building caught fire.

Jesse Bonacci-Koski, 24, of Hibbing, is charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter in the death of his 11-month-old nephew, court documents filed in St. Louis County say. Bonacci-Koski also faces charges for vehicle theft and drug possession.

According to a criminal complaint, Bonacci-Koski was watching his nephew on the morning of Aug. 2 in his brother’s Tower home when he left child alone. In an interview with investigators, he said he’d left for about two hours to buy meth. When he returned and saw fire trucks, he fled.

The fire had flames coming from the home’s first floor and heavy smoke pouring out of the second floor, the complaint states. About an hour after arriving on the scene, emergency workers pulled the baby’s body from the building. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

The medical examiner’s office said the child had soot in his esophagus, stomach and upper and lower airways, the complaint states.

After fleeing his brother’s home, Bonacci-Koski dumped his drugs in a parked car, stole a different vehicle and ran into a swamp. He also left his brother’s family dog in a parking lot.

Bonacci-Koski was eventually arrested after being found in the woods off Highway 169 in Pike Township. There was also an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest.

If convicted of the manslaughter charges, Bonacci-Koski faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each count.

KESHENA, Wis. (AP) — Menominee Tribal Police say a parent on the reservation found a packet of methamphetamine among her child’s trick-or-treat Halloween candy.

The parent turned the small packet of crystal powder over to police early Monday and officers say it tested positive for meth. The child did not ingest the powder.

WLUK-TV says police are urging parents to check their children’s candy if they have been trick or treating in the Keshena area on the Menominee reservation.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A southern Minnesota man is accused of putting methamphetamine in a woman’s drink without her knowledge.

According to the criminal complaint, police responded to call at a home in Mapleton on Oct. 24. When they arrived, a woman exited the home and told police 27-year-old Taylor Spence hit her.

When he denied it, the woman said, “He’s lying. He is a meth-head.” She told police that Spence put something in her beer and on another occasion put meth in a Gatorade she was drinking.

Spence denied this too, and told police the woman was upset at him for having a drug relapse six months ago. He also admitted to using meth the day before, but told police that the woman initiated the incident to which they responded.

Police also interviewed the woman’s mother, who was at the home.

“He put fricking meth in her drink again yesterday,” the mother said.

The woman told police Spence was on probation and Drug Court, but was still using meth. She said Spence puts meth in his drinks, and would put it in her drink as well so she would get high and have sex with him, according to the complaint.

A test for methamphetamine in the woman’s system the next day came back positive.

Spence is charged with a felony and is expected to appear in court later this month.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota authorities saw notable increases in the amount of meth, prescription pills, heroin and marijuana they took off the street last year.

Data provided Thursday from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says more than 214,000 prescription pills were seized by drug and gang investigators in 2017. That’s up from nearly 59,000 pills in 2016. The huge increase includes at least one significant seizure of more than 100,000 pills.

But authorities are also seeing other drugs in greater quantities. They seized about 625 pounds of meth in 2017, up from 488 pounds a year earlier.

Heroin and marijuana also saw increases in 2017, with about 42 pounds of heroin and 4,323 pounds of marijuana seized.

Authorities did see slight decreases in the amounts of cocaine and crack recovered in 2017.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

CBS Local — The 20-year-old woman who tore out her own eyes in a drug-induced frenzy has finally returned home and is telling reporters what led her to that horrific day.

Kaylee Muthart of Anderson, South Carolina was released from the hospital on March 1 after recovering from the self-inflicted injuries she suffered outside a local church. The young woman’s mother, Katy Tompkins, says her daughter was battling meth addiction for six months before taking the dose that triggered a psychotic episode on Feb. 6. Tompkins added that doctors believe her daughter’s meth had been laced with another chemical which made her turn violent and hallucinate.

In an interview with People magazine, Muthart says she is grateful to be moving past the drug addiction that left her blind. “It’s the same life, but I’m just learning everything in a new way,” the 20-year-old said. “Life’s more beautiful now, life’s more beautiful than it was being on drugs. It is a horrible world to live in.”

Muthart added that she started using drugs after feeling isolated and lonely. She claims that the tainted batch of drugs made her hallucinate and warped her views on God and the afterlife. “I thought everyone who had died was stuck in their graves, that God was up in Heaven alone, and that I had to sacrifice something important to be able to release everyone in the world to God.”

“I thought I was sacrificing myself for the world,” she told USA Today. “It wasn’t voices, but I thought it was real.”

Muthart’s mother has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for a service dog for Kaylee. The fundraiser has brought in over $37,000 since Feb. 12.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A western Wisconsin man is facing charges of child neglect for using methamphetamine around his children, two of which tested positive for meth and marijuana.

David Maine, of Danbury, Wisconsin, is charged with three misdemeanor counts of child neglect, documents filed in Burnett County show.

According to a criminal complaint, authorities began investigating Maine’s household in March, following accusations of child maltreatment and sexual abuse.

While the abuse allegations proved to be unfounded, Maine admitted to investigators that he and his partner used methamphetamine in the home, sometimes around their three children.

Hair follicle tests of the children found that the two youngest tested positive for meth and THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana. The oldest child tested negative for all substances.

If convicted of the neglect charges, Maine faces a maximum penalty of 9 months behind bars and/or a $10,000 fine for each count.

WEST COVINA, CA (CBS Local) – A rookie K-9 officer in California has already made a big impression on his new department after finding nearly 60 pounds of meth in a suspect’s car.

Rye is the newest K-9 in the West Covina Police Department. The pup recently learned how to sniff out drugs and received his field certification in narcotic detection in April, according to the department’s Facebook page.

The fresh-faced recruit looked like an old pro when officers stopped a driver on May 19. West Covina Police say the 2010 Nissan was pulled over for a driving violation when they allegedly found methamphetamine on the driver’s seat. Officers called in Rye for a more thorough search and the K-9 discovered “two hidden compartments” where the rest of the drugs were stored.

The 60 pounds of meth were hidden in spaces under the driver’s seat and front passenger’s seat. Officers immediately arrested 28-year-old Pedro Lopez and charged him with possessing and transporting narcotics.

West Covina Police noted that this was Rye’s very first drug bust in a photo on Twitter, where the four-legged officer posed with the valuable evidence.