Former Irvin High science teacher pleads guilty to producing meth
John W. Gose pleaded guilty to four meth-related counts in a Las Cruces courtroom Monday, the office of Doña Ana County District Attorney Mark D’Antonio announced Tuesday.
Gose, 56, was charged with two counts of Trafficking by Manufacturing and one count each of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
“That the defendant in this case chose to plead guilty to all of the charges is a testament to the strength of the investigation,” D’Antonio said. “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 taught science and chemistry for eight and a half years at Irvin High School in the El Paso Independent School District, federal officials said.
Gose resigned from the district in December 2008 and took a job with as a vocational teacher at Oñate High School with Las Cruces Public Schools in January 2009.
Gose also thaught eighth grade science at Camino Real Middle School from Aug. 2013 through Feb. 2016.
He was arrested on the evening of Oct. 2, 2016 during a traffic stop when Las Cruces police officers discovered a white, styrofoam ice chest containing glassware, rubber tubing and chemicals which a lab later confirmed can be used to manufacture methamphetamines.
The case was turned over to New Mexico State Police, and a subsequent search of Gose’s property on Highway 28 turned up more chemicals and supplies, which investigators said, suggested the former teacher was manufacturing meth.
Investigators said Gose was in possession of the ingredients necessary to yield at least one pound of methamphetamines, which has an estimated street value of $44,800.
District Judge Fernando Macias ordered Gose to undergo a 60-day diagnostic evaluation in the custody of the New Mexico Department of Corrections before sentencing.
