A Michigan State University instructor was recently discovered to have a criminal history of running a meth lab.
Brendan Doyle, a kinesiology instructor, was convicted in 2020 of running a meth lab in Thibodaux, Louisiana - a fact that the university only learned last month despite running a background check.
Students had found articles online about Doyle and shared them with the university, according to Fox17. The instructor had been reportedly exhibiting erratic behaviour including suddenly cancelling classes, according to CBS42.
He subsequently took leave from MSU in September and is no longer an employee, a college spokesperson told The Independent.
A university spokesperson said in an email that the school “conducted a background check for the faculty member consistent with its policies and procedures for all faculty and support staff at the university. That criminal background check did not reveal any criminal charges or criminal convictions”.
According to a 19 May 2020 release from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office — which has since been taken down — Doyle was arrested “in connection with meth lab remnants discovered in Thibodaux”.
In March 2020, a Thibodaux resident “discovered a bucket and trash bag under a bridge over a canal, and smoke was coming from the bucket,” and contacted the police.
“Deputies and narcotics agents arrived on the scene and confirmed the presence of items commonly associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine,” the release stated.
Doyle was subsequently charged with creation or operation of a clandestine laboratory for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex on 18 May, 2020, but released later that day after posting $20,000 bail.
Doyle pleaded guilty in January 2021 and was sentenced to 180 days. He served 90 days, according to Fox 17.
The outlet also obtained an email sent by the head of the university’s kinesiology department, who reportedly apologised to students.
MSU has recently been embroiled in a separate scandal involving a college employee.
Football coach Mel Tucker was fired just weeks after a rape survivor accused him of sexual harassment during a 2022 phone call.
The university issued a statement on Wednesday, explaining that Mr Tucker was fired “for his admitted and undisputed behaviors which have brought public disrespect, contempt and ridicule upon the university; and constitute a material breach of his agreement, and moral turpitude”.
