Meth

OGDEN — An accused burglar’s claim that he was just practicing to be a locksmith proved to be a key in his arrest, according to police.

Justin Atmore, 31, was arrested by Weber County Sheriff’s Office deputies Sunday.

Atmore has been charged with burglary of a vehicle, manufacture/possession of burglary tools, possession/use of a firearm by a restricted person, five counts of theft by receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Federal agents say they've seized about half a million dollars in methamphetamine from a Mexican drug cartel over the weekend in Salt Lake County.

ST. LOUIS -- A crude new method of making methamphetamine poses a risk even to Americans who never get anywhere near the drug: It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment -- a burden so costly that it's contributing to the closure of some burn units.

So-called shake-and-bake meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a 2-liter soda bottle. But if the person mixing the noxious brew makes the slightest error, such as removing the cap too soon or accidentally perforating the plastic, the concoction can explode, searing flesh and causing permanent disfigurement, blindness or even death.

Local law enforcement agencies saw a disturbing trend in 2011 of out-of-state crews coming into the area to sell illegal drugs, everything from marijuana and methamphetamine to illegal prescriptions, cocaine and heroin.

"This is just following a national trend that has hit here," said Lt. Darin Parke with the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- A well-respected former Colorado sheriff is being held on a half-million-dollar bond in the jail named for him, suspected of offering methamphetamine in exchange for sex from a male acquaintance.

PROVO — Authorities arrested a Bountiful man in connection with a murder in Provo that police say was paid for with one ounce of methamphetamine.

Workplace drug testing data show methamphetamine continues to be a significant problem in the Western states.

In data released Friday of U.S. workplace drug-screening tests in 2010, Hawaii ranked first in the highest rates of positive screens for methamphetamine -- 410 percent greater than the national average.