This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/sentencing-set-today-for-washingtons-unusual-version-of-breaking-bad/2016/01/07/cfeb88b4-b489-11e5-a76a-0b5145e8679a_story.html

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
Sentencing underway in Washington’s unusual version of ‘Breaking Bad’ Ex-officer sentenced to 3 1/2 years in Washington’s unusual version of ‘Breaking Bad’
(about 2 hours later)
As unbelievable as it sounds, no one disputes that Christopher Bartley did it: A onetime police lieutenant who tried to cook meth at a high-level federal science lab north of Washington was sentenced to 3 1 /2 years in prison Thursday — closing one of the most bizarre recent drug cases in the region.
While working as a police officer at a high-end federal science complex north of Washington, he slipped into a lab one Saturday night, tried to cook meth and set off a violent explosion that blew out four windows of the building. It certainly qualified as one of the area’s more bizarre drug cases of 2015. “There is a certain craziness about this,” U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte told the former officer, Christopher Bartley, who worked for the police force at the sprawling National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg.
What is a matter of intense debate — and was aired during Bartley’s lengthy sentencing hearing Thursday in federal court in Greenbelt — was how much he put others at risk. Messitte invoked the television show “Breaking Bad” and its main character, Walter White, a chemistry teacher who decided to start making meth.
The question of danger is central to the heart of how much prison time, if any, he will receive. “But he went to the desert,” the judge said to Bartley, 41. “You went to a laboratory at a government facility. It’s almost absurd what you tried to accomplish here.”
And as of early Thursday evening, with the hearing entering its eighth hour, his sentence still had not been set. Messitte’s ruling, just before 9 p.m., came after an 11-hour hearing in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Bartley pleaded guilty in August to trying to manufacture methamphetamine. His effort, on a Saturday night while on duty at NIST, turned into a disaster: An explosion erupted in his face and sent four windows flying up to 33 feet from the lab.
Bartley resigned the day after the July incident and pleaded guilty in the case in August. He could be sent to prison for more than three years if prosecutors have their way. If Bartley’s attorneys prevail, he will be placed on probation and allowed to live at home in Maryland. The judge condemned Bartley’s insistence, to the very end, that he was doing research in order to hold future training seminars about meth for other NIST police officers. “It’s frankly so preposterous that I don’t believe it,” Messitte said.
The sentencing requests laid out in court papers reflect starkly different accounts of why Bartley, 41, tried to make a small batch of the highly addictive street-drug methamphetamine on the 578-acre campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md. The judge wondered aloud whether Bartley, who had worked at NIST as an officer for 14 years, convinced himself it was true. He advised Bartley to come to terms with why he tried to cook the meth, which remains a mystery perhaps known only to Bartley. “That’s a problem for you in this case,” Messitte said.
“The defendant’s conduct endangered the very individuals whom he was charged with protecting,” prosecutors wrote in court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Bartley was allowed to leave the courtroom. He is due to start serving his sentence March 1. In court, Bartley apologized for what he did and for hurting his family.
“I made a serious error in judgement,” he said.
He vowed to not let the case — which received nationwide media attention — define him. He said he would work hard, even in prison.
“I’ve got much more to give,” he said.
The question of danger and the risks to which he exposed others was central to how much prison time Bartley faced. Messitte ruled that he had endangered others — namely firefighters who responded to the scene, which increased Bartley’s federally recommended sentencing range.
“The defendant’s conduct endangered the very individuals whom he was charged with protecting,” prosecutors had argued.
The prosecutors also floated the idea that Bartley wanted to try the drug himself. An analysis of his smartphone, they asserted, revealed that a day before trying to cook the meth, Bartley clicked on a Web page titled “How Long Does Meth Stay in Your System?”The prosecutors also floated the idea that Bartley wanted to try the drug himself. An analysis of his smartphone, they asserted, revealed that a day before trying to cook the meth, Bartley clicked on a Web page titled “How Long Does Meth Stay in Your System?”
Steven VanGrack, an attorney for Bartley, has said for months that his client was learning how to make meth so he could hold training sessions for fellow officers about the production and dangers of the drug. Knowing how long it stays in a person’s system was part of that study, VanGrack said. Steven VanGrack, an attorney for Bartley, had said for months that his client was learning how to make meth so he could hold training sessions for fellow officers and that knowing how long it stays in a person’s system was part of that study.
Earlier: A bumbling episode of ‘Breaking Bad’Earlier: A bumbling episode of ‘Breaking Bad’
NIST is known for its Nobel Prize-winning research in areas including atomic physics. It has its own police force, which is responsible for traffic safety, responding to possible crimes, and protecting buildings that house sensitive materials and trade secrets, according to court filings. Bartley began working for the force in 2001 and was a lieutenant and briefly its acting chief. NIST is known for its Nobel Prize-winning research in areas including atomic physics. It has its own police force. Bartley began working for the force in 2001 and was a lieutenant and briefly its acting chief. He resigned the day after the July 18 incident.
On Thursday, prosecutors called three witnesses, including Ryan Winpingler, of NIST’s fire department. He was working the night of the July 18 incident and was called to the lab because Bartley’s meth-making explosion triggered a silent heat alarm. On Thursday, prosecutors called three witnesses, including Ryan Winpigler, of NIST’s fire department. He was working July 18 and was called to the lab because Bartley’s meth-making explosion triggered a silent heat alarm. Winpigler’s testimony made clear that he and another firefighter didn’t get a direct answer from Bartley about what had happened. But it was evident that he’d been burned.
Winpingler’s testimony made clear that he and another firefighter didn’t get a direct answer from Bartley about what had happened. But it was evident that he’d been burned. Winpigler arrived at a chaotic scene: Blown-out windows; Bartley with a burn on one arm and singed eyebrows and walking near a trash can and a Dumpster.
Winpingler described the scene: Blown-out windows; Bartley with a burn on one arm and singed eyebrows, and walking near a trash can and a Dumpster. According to Winpigler, Bartley told him that he was trying to fill his cigarette lighter with butane and that it exploded.
According to Winpingler, Bartley told him that he was trying to fill his cigarette lighter with butane and that it exploded. Winpigler said had he known the man was trying to make meth “we never would have entered.”
Winpingler said he had known the man had been trying to make meth — using a dangerous combination of cold medicine, household cleaners and camping fuel — “we never would have entered.”
Gary Young, Bartley’s supervisor at the NIST police force, also went to the scene that night and testified Thursday. He, too, was told the butane story. Young said that at 1:27 the next morning, after Bartley was taken to the hospital, he received an email from him.Gary Young, Bartley’s supervisor at the NIST police force, also went to the scene that night and testified Thursday. He, too, was told the butane story. Young said that at 1:27 the next morning, after Bartley was taken to the hospital, he received an email from him.
“Gary,” the email began, “I really messed up tonight.” In the email, presented at the hearing, Bartley talked about his training plan.“Gary,” the email began, “I really messed up tonight.” In the email, presented at the hearing, Bartley talked about his training plan.
In his research, he said, “I learned there was a new way to manufacture methamphetamines utilizing household items called shake and bake. I watched several videos on YouTube where police were demonstrating the method for their officers or the media.” In his research, he said, “I watched several videos on YouTube where police were demonstrating the method for their officers or the media.”
He was doing “a practice run and thought I was doing it as safely as possible but soon learned otherwise. I told the butane lighter story simply because I was so embarrassed that I made such a colossal mistake,” he continued, adding, “I am by no means a drug user which has always been verified by my urinalysis tests.” He said he was doing “a practice run” and thought he “was doing it as safely as possible but soon learned otherwise. I told the butane lighter story simply because I was so embarrassed that I made such a colossal mistake,” he continued, adding, “I am by no means a drug user which has always been verified by my urinalysis tests.”
Bartley wrapped up by saying: “I should have told someone of the idea, got it approved and so many other things that a list is to (sic) long to mention. I know that made (sic) a mistake and am fully prepared to accept the consequences.” He ended by saying he “just wanted you to know the truth. . . ”
Prosecutors and defense attorneys each called an expert witness to testify about the risk Bartley’s meth-making posed.Prosecutors and defense attorneys each called an expert witness to testify about the risk Bartley’s meth-making posed.
Robert Smith, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, spoke about the inherent dangers to the “Shake and Bake” technique, citing a case he had worked on in which a garage door was blown off its hinges and a roof shifted. He specifically sized up Bartley’s written recipes and said the measurements were off. “You’re going to create a reaction that is a lot more violent,” he said. Robert Smith, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, spoke about the inherent dangers to the “shake and bake” technique, citing a case he had worked on in which a garage door was blown off its hinges and a roof shifted. He specifically sized up Bartley’s written recipes and said the measurements were off. “You’re going to create a reaction that is a lot more violent,” he said.
But Daniel O. Chute, a defense witness and expert in environmental and workplace safety, said that by the time the first responders entered the lab after the explosion, it was not particularly dangerous. Part of the reason, he said, was that the windows had been blown out. “At that point, that room was open to the atmosphere,” Chute said.But Daniel O. Chute, a defense witness and expert in environmental and workplace safety, said that by the time the first responders entered the lab after the explosion, it was not particularly dangerous. Part of the reason, he said, was that the windows had been blown out. “At that point, that room was open to the atmosphere,” Chute said.
In court papers, VanGrack called his client a man of impeccable character: “A 14-year NIST police officer, an honorable veteran of the U.S. Army, a devoted father, a committed employee, a kind friend, a thoughtful man of faith.”In court papers, VanGrack called his client a man of impeccable character: “A 14-year NIST police officer, an honorable veteran of the U.S. Army, a devoted father, a committed employee, a kind friend, a thoughtful man of faith.”
When news broke this summer about Bartley’s case, people made jokes and comparisons to the TV series “Breaking Bad,” whose lead character, Walter White, is a brilliant chemist who makes meth in a pristine, high-tech laboratory. When news broke this summer about Bartley’s case, people made jokes and comparisons to “Breaking Bad.”
But the meth-cook Bartley tried was small, crude and relatively simple. By going online, Bartley could read how to make meth out of cold medicine, household cleaning products and camping fuel. On July 17, according to court documents, he stopped at a Target in Frederick, Md., where he purchased cold medicine. A day later, at a Giant store, Bartley bought a similar medicine. But the meth-cook Bartley tried was small and relatively simple. By going online, Bartley could read how to make meth out of cold medicine, household cleaning products and camping fuel. On July 17, according to court documents, he stopped at a Target in Frederick, Md., where he purchased cold medicine. A day later, at a Giant store, Bartley bought a similar medicine.
He arrived at work later that second day with meth-making notes.He arrived at work later that second day with meth-making notes.
“When he added water to the first bottle, the experiment went awry,” wrote VanGrack.“When he added water to the first bottle, the experiment went awry,” wrote VanGrack.