Man accused of selling rock salt as methamphetamine
By Jonathan Richie
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LODI, Wisconsin (wiscnews.com) — An arrest warrant has been issued for Marshall man linked to a drug deal in Lodi. The deal was supposed to be for methamphetamine but it was rock salt.
Jayson A. Mathison, 30, Marshall, has been charged with falsely presenting a non-controlled substance, a class I felony, and second degree recklessly endangering safety, a class G felony.
Columbia County Circuit Judge Todd Hepler issued the arrest warrant for Mathison on July 29. According to the criminal complaint, in February a Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a report in Lodi of a man shaking, feeling cold and have difficulty breathing. The caller believed the man was having a heart attack.
Deputy Kevin Jones arrived at the home while EMS attended to the man. The man, only identified as Victim 1 in the complaint, told authorities he believed he had attempted to use methamphetamine.
However he told Deputy Jones he believes he injected himself with rock salt.
Deputy Jones was told Mathison had supplied what he thought to be methamphetamine. The victim arranged to meet with Mathison in Lodi and returned home with his purchase.
He prepared the methamphetamine and shortly after injecting the substance he began to feel the symptoms. After realizing he wasn’t getting the effects of methamphetamine he tasted the substance and concluded it was rock salt. The complaint says the victim contacted Mathison. Mathison confirmed it was rock salt and was pay back for the victim allegedly stealing from Mathison two years ago.
Deputy Jones looked at messages on the victim’s phone and found messages showing the victim was looking to purchase methamphetamine from Mathison and eventually arranged to purchase 1/8th of an ounce of methamphetamine for $200.
In April, Deputy Jones then contacted the Centers for Disease Control spoke to a nurse about injecting rock salts. The nurse told him, “If a person was injected with a solution of dissolved rock salt, if it was of high enough concentration, the person could suffer from an altered mental state, central nervous system depression, hypertension, and respiratory arrest, pulmonary and cerebral damage.”
The nurse said if the concentration of the rock salt was high enough it could result in a seizure sever enough to cause death.
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