High school chemistry teacher pleads guilty to making crystal meth in Breaking Bad-style case

John W Gose mimics Walter White after setting up meth lab at home

Benjamin Kentish
Thursday 04 May 2017 20:46 BST
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John W. Gose had enough ingredients to make £40,000 worth of meth
John W. Gose had enough ingredients to make £40,000 worth of meth

A former high school chemistry teacher who emulated the Walter White character in the Breaking Bad TV show, has plead guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine.

John W Gose, 56, admitted four counts of manufacturing and trafficking the drug after police found a lab at his home in New Mexico - where the show was set.

He had also taught in El Paso, Texas, which also featured in Breaking Bad.

Gose was arrested in October after police discovered a white Styrofoam chest containing glassware, rubber tubing and chemicals that could be used to make meth, after pulling him over for a routine traffic stop.

A search of his home later turned up further chemicals and equipment that suggested he was manufacturing the drug. There were enough ingredients to make a pound of meth, worth an estimated $44,800 (£41,000), police said.

“That the defendant in this case chose to plead guilty to all of the charges is a testament to the strength of the investigation,” said Doña Ana County District Attorney Mark D’Antonio.

“Thanks to the hard work of the Las Cruces Police Department, the New Mexico State Police and the prosecutors in this office, we are able to close the books on this case of life imitating art while saving the taxpayers of New Mexico the cost of a jury trial.”

​Gose was ordered to undergo 60 days of “diagnostic evaluation” in custody before being sentenced later in the year.

The case has drawn many parallels to Breaking Bad, which tells the story of Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer who turns to a life of crime producing and selling meth in order to make money for his family.

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