LAS CRUCES – Doña Ana County District Attorney Mark D’Antonio on Wednesday announced that John W. Gose from San Miguel was sentenced to four years in prison on four meth-related counts. Gose, 56, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of Trafficking by Manufacturing — each a second-degree felony — and one count each of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Prosecutors from the Third Judicial district asked for a sentence of nine years in prison, followed by five years of supervised probation. District Judge Fernando R. Macias imposed a sentence of nine years — but suspended all but four years of it.
“We asked the court for the sentence we felt was appropriate for Mr. Gose,” D’Antonio said. “We are very pleased that the defendant will have to face the consequences of his illegal and irresponsible decisions.”
Gose taught science for eight and a half years at Irvin High School. According to police reports, Gose told a roommate he used to teach chemistry. He resigned from the district in Dec. 2008 and took a job with as a vocational teacher at Oñate High School with Las Cruces Public Schools in January 2009.
After one semester with LCPS, Gose resigned but returned to the district to teach eighth grade science at Camino Real Middle School from Aug. 2013 through Feb. 2016.
Gose was arrested on the evening of Oct. 2, 2016, after a traffic stop. During the stop, officers with the Las Cruces Police Department 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 Metro Narcotics, a multiagency task force, and a subsequent search of Gose’s property on Hwy. 28 turned up further chemicals and supplies which 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.
Assistant District Attorney Tomas Medina, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the State, told the court on Wednesday that the methamphetamine was in the final stages of the crystallization process at the time Gose was arrested.
Gose will receive credit for the approximate seven months he has been incarcerated. Upon release, Gose must complete five years of supervised probation.
Information from Third Judicial District Attorney's Office