Former science teacher John Gose pleads guilty to manufacturing methamphetamines

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Authorities say a former science teacher has pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamines in New Mexico.

Prosecutors say a judge has ordered 56-year-old John Gose to undergo a 60-day diagnostic evaluation before sentencing.

Gose pleaded guilty Monday to four meth-related charges in a Las Cruces courtroom.

Las Cruces police arrested Gose last October after a traffic stop.

Officers reported finding an ice chest in Gose's car that contained glassware, rubber tubing and chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamines.

Police later searched his property and found ingredients to make at least one pound of meth.

Gose taught science for eight-and-a-half years at Irvin High School in El Paso, Texas before resigning and taking a job in 2009 as a vocational teacher at Oñate High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico, reports CBS El Paso affiliate KDBC-TV.

Gose was there for one semester and resigned, but then returned to the Las Cruces district to teach eighth-grade science at Camino Real Middle School from 2013 to 2016, the station says.

CBS El Paso affiliate KDBC-TV reports parents of Camino Real students were shocked when they found out about the drug charges.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I mean, you don't expect a teacher to have that kind of stuff in his car," Misty Ward said.

"You don't expect it, you know? He's supposed to be a model for kids and does a 180, right? It's just crazy," Ward added.

"It's just conflicting (with) what parents are trying to teach our children," Eileen Lujan said.