Duschene man with ‘long criminal history’ accused of manufacturing bath salts

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man who has been investigated multiple times on allegations of drug crimes is facing federal and state charges after he was allegedly found to be in possession of the drug known as bath salts.

Bronson Gary Dean, 51, of Duchesne, was driving a pickup truck in North Salt Lake on Feb. 23 when he was stopped for a traffic violation. The police officer ordered Dean to exit the vehicle after he “observed items that appeared to be drug paraphernalia,” court documents state.

While searching the truck, police located a digital scale with powder residue, a handgun that was reported as stolen, laboratory grade glassware, unknown liquids in various chemical containers and baggies filled with suspected controlled substances, according to federal charges.

A drug enforcement team responded to the scene and determined the glassware and chemicals are ones often used in the manufacturing of synthetic cathinones, also known as “bath salts.” In total, police seized approximately 351.8 grams of alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone, or Alpha-PVP, a schedule I controlled substance, a federal indictment states.

Police requested he be held without bail as Dean has a “long criminal history dating back to 1993 with 23 incidents on 15 convictions on his record,” the charges said, but he was given pretrial release after posting bail.

On July 7, Dean was pulled over while driving near Heber City for alleged safety violations. Dean was discovered to have been driving on a suspended license, and when police searched his vehicle, they located drug paraphernalia, prescription medications that did not belong to him and small amounts of methamphetamine, according to a police booking affidavit.

He was arrested and subsequently charged in 4th District Court with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with a prior conviction, a third-degree felony; possession of a controlled substance with a prior conviction, a class A misdemeanor, and two other drug-related misdemeanors.

For his case in North Salt Lake, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his pretrial release after his arrest in Heber City. The motion has not been granted or denied yet, and in the Heber City case, a warrant was issued for Dean’s arrest after he failed to appear at a hearing on July 22.

Also on July 22, Dean was indicted in federal court and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of an illicit substance with intent to distribute in connection to the Feb. 23 traffic stop. A week later, a federal judge granted a motion for Dean’s detention pending trial.

Dean was previously convicted in federal court in 2006 and 2018 of charges of drug possession with intent to distribute, according to court documents. He also was convicted in 2022 in Utah’s 3rd District Court of theft by deception. In that case, he was sentenced to zero to five years, but the term was suspended and he was ordered to serve three years on probation.

According to court records, Dean was previously investigated twice for allegedly operating a clandestine laboratory, but the cases were dismissed.