The thugs on TV’s “Breaking Bad” have sparked a real-life crime wave!
Cops from coast to coast say copycat criminals are mimicking the Emmy-winning AMC series that recently wrapped its five-season run.
“‘Breaking Bad’ makes it look easy to commit crimes, and people think, hey, that went pretty good, I’ll try that,” police chief Alton McWaters of Linden, Texas, told The ENQUIRER.
The critically acclaimed drama starred actor Bryan Cranston as high school chemistry teacher Walter White who turned to selling methamphetamine to provide for his family after being diagnosed with cancer.
And this past May, 57-year-old math tutor Stephen Doran – who’s the same age as Cranston and bears a striking resemblance to him – allegedly pulled the same stunt!
DORAN was busted after police say they found $50,000 worth of meth in a package that he allegedly had delivered to Match Charter Middle School in Jamaica Plain, Mass., where he worked.
Cops also allegedly found 38 grams of crystal meth, $10,000 in cash, a digital scale and other drug paraphernalia at his home.
Just like “Breaking Bad’s” Walt, Doran has children and is being treated for cancer. He’s facing 20 years behind bars.
Meanwhile, 27-year-old Jason Hart was arrested in June after police found the nude body of a woman soaking in a tub of acid at his home in
“I think he used it as instructions to dispose of the body,” mused Seattle. Back in July 2010, police in Kansas City, Mo., began seeing a new, more powerful form of the drug, called blue meth. That might sound familiar to “Breaking Bad” fans – because in 2008, Walt introduced a new meth variety called Blue Sky.
“Our drug enforcement unit has several theories about why some meth manufacturers are making it blue,” police chief Darryl Forte wrote in his official blog.
“One hypothesis is that (they) are simply copying the TV show on AMC called ‘Breaking Bad.’”
In another incident, William Duncan, 43, a chemistry teacher in Linden, Texas, was arrested last fall after cops say they caught him selling meth in the school’s parking lot.
He’s now awaiting trial on charges of manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance. Like TV’s Walter White, he’s in bad health.
“He’s crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and has been on medication for years,” noted police chief McWaters.
As for “Breaking Bad,” McWaters said: “I really like the show, but I think it sets a bad example because people think they can get away with committing a crime. But that’s not real life.”
SPOILER: IT didn’t end well for TV’s Walter White – either.