New face-eating 'bath salts' attack in Louisiana

Another violent face-biting incident associated with the drug mephedrone has taken place, this time in Louisiana, according to Lafayette, Louisiana's KATC.  Forty-three-year-old Carl Jacquneaux is accused of biting the face of Todd Credeur in a bizarre attack that took place over the weekend and bears a startling resemblance to a case that took place last month in Miami, in which 31-year-old Rudy Eugene attacked another man and tore off most of his face with his teeth before being shot dead by police.

Credeur said that he was working in his yard when Jacquneaux, reportedly upset about a "domestic matter," attacked him and, in the words of Scott, Louisiana Assistant Police Chief Kert Thomas, "bit a chunk of the victim's face off."  Credeur defended himself by spraying "wasp spray" into Jacquneaux's face, ending the attack.

Jacquneaux fled the scene, but soon after appeared at the house of another acquaintance in the town of Carencro, attacking him, holding him at knife point and demanding a gun.  It was there that police deputies caught up with Jacquneaux and arrested him.

Police say that they believe that Jacquneaux was under the influence of drugs at the time of arrest, but failed to conduct blood tests before he was incarcerated. KATC reports that a woman familiar with Jacquneaux indicated that the suspect had been using so-called "bath salts."

Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant that users say makes them feel energized and confident. It intensifies the pleasure associated with hearing music and is therefore popular in nightclubs, at concerts and at "raves." At toxic levels, however, the drug reportedly causes intense confusion and sometimes violent rage, spikes in body temperature and hallucinations.

Wired magazine reports that regulators are engaged in an elaborate game of "Whac-a-mole" with the chemists producing the drugs. "Every time a compound is banned, overseas chemists synthesize a new version tweaked just enough to evade a law’s letter," wrote Wired's Brandon Keim.

Producers of the mephedrone have sold it under the names "bath salts" and "plant food." It exploded into widespread use in the U.K. in 2008, prompting lawmakers to ban it, first in the U.K. and Israel, then in all of the EU. Congress hurriedly made the chemical temporarily illegal in the U.S. in October 2011.

Watch video about this story, which aired June 5, and is embedded via KATC, below: