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| Ex-officer sentenced to 3 1⁄2 years in Washington’s unusual version of ‘Breaking Bad’ | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| 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. | |
| “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. | “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. |
| Messitte invoked the television show “Breaking Bad” and its main character, Walter White, a chemistry teacher who decided to start making meth. | Messitte invoked the television show “Breaking Bad” and its main character, Walter White, a chemistry teacher who decided to start making meth. |
| “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.” | “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.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 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 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. | “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. | 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. | “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 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 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, 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. | 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. 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| According to Winpigler, Bartley told him that he was trying to fill his cigarette lighter with butane and that it exploded. | According to Winpigler, 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.” | Winpigler said had he known the man was trying to make meth “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 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 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.” | 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.” |
| 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 “Breaking Bad.” | 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 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. |