Former Officer To Plead Guilty In Federal Science Lab Blast

GREENBELT, Md. (WJZ) -- A former federal police officer is scheduled to appear in US District Court Friday to plead guilty for trying to manufacture methamphetamine at a federal science lab.

Forty-one-year-old Christopher Bartley was officially charged on Monday.

The July 18th explosion happened on the campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg.

Bartley suffered minor injuries; no one else was hurt.

Investigators at the explosion site found materials associated with the manufacturing of meth.

Bartley's lawyer says he wasn't trying to make methamphetamine for his personal use; instead, his client wanted to learn more about how meth is made in order to train the officers he supervised.

Bartley admitted his responsibility for the explosion and resigned the day after it occurred.