Chemistry professors accused of making meth in school lab

ARKADELPHIA, Arkansas -- Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

Two chemistry professors are accused of "breaking bad" like they're Walter White.

Terry David Bateman, 45, and Bradley Allen Rowland, 40, have been arrested and accused of making methamphetamine, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Department. They face charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and using drug paraphernalia.

Bateman and Rowland are associate professors of chemistry at Henderson State University.

A university science center was closed Oct. 8 after someone reported a chemical odor, the university's associate vice president of marketing and communications, the university said in a statement.

The university would not elaborate on what was found following the report of a chemical odor, nor would she confirm whether the professors were suspected of making meth inside the school.

Bateman and Rowland are both on administrative leave that started Oct. 11.

According to KATV, the investigation is ongoing.

Walter White was the lead character in AMC's "Breaking Bad," which aired from 2008 to 2013. The show told the story of White, a high school chemistry professor portrayed by Bryan Cranston, who turned to manufacturing crystal meth to secure his family's financial future after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.