Ex-BYU student convicted in meth lab case arrested in similar Salt Lake case


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SALT LAKE CITY — A former BYU student who originally claimed he was making soap in student housing but was later convicted of intent to operate a clandestine laboratory was arrested Friday for investigation of a similar offense.

Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking said police received a 911 call Friday morning reporting a suspicious smell coming from 1928 E. Hillcrest Ave. (2520 South) where Bryce Austin Cazier, 23, lives.

"Roommate of (Cazier) called the fire department because she smelled a strong odor of chemicals," a Salt Lake County Jail report states. "Fire department observed several elements of clandestine lab."

The Drug Enforcement Administration was called and agents reported finding a drug lab. Cazier told agents it was a meth lab, according to the report. He was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of a operating a clandestine lab.

In January of 2015, Cazier pleaded guilty in 4th District Court to the second-degree felony. He was originally arrested after police suspected he was making methamphetamine inside his student apartment in Provo.

Two roommates had reported smelling something burning in his locked bedroom. After he left the apartment the next day, they picked the lock to his room and discovered suspicious glassware and chemicals. His attorney maintained that Cazier had been making soap, but also made meth as a "chemistry experiment." He said his client was not a meth user and did not have a significant criminal history.

Cazier avoided more serious charges as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Last month, a judge ordered him to pay $8,000 restitution in the case.

Prosecutors at the time said they agreed to recommend jail time instead of prison, partly because Cazier completed a substance abuse treatment program in St. George before his sentencing.

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Pat Reavy

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