'Breaking Bad' superfan arrested on drug charges

By Patrick Kevin Day

5:16 PM PST, January 2, 2014

One South Florida superfan of the show "Breaking Bad" has seen his life turn into something out of the show he idolized when he was arrested in the early morning hours of New Year's day on drug charges.

According to Florida TV station WPTV, 28-year-old Ryan Lee Carroll of San Carlos Park, Florida was booked in the early morning hours of New Year's Day on felony charges of possessing a synthetic narcotic with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver and a count of possession of a controlled substance. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of keeping a shop or vehicle for dangerous drugs and probation violation.

What makes Carroll's arrest notable, however, is that last fall he became briefly famous in his town for winning a contest sponsored by "Breaking Bad" actor Aaron Paul for Paul's wife's anti-bullying nonprofit, the Kind Campaign. Carroll flew to L.A. and watched the final episode at the big Hollywood Forever cemetery screening as Paul's guest.

PHOTOS: Before they were actors on 'Breaking Bad'

Carroll told the newspaper that Paul planned to pick Carroll and a friend up at LAX in the RV used as the site of many meth cooks in the series.

At the time, he told the Naples Daily News, "If you start watching ['Breaking Bad'], you can't stop. It's highly addicting, just like the meth they make" on the series.

Authorities began a search of Carroll's rented home on Wednesday, according to the TV station. The home is adjacent to San Carlos Park Elementary School in the Fort Myers area.

"Breaking Bad" chronicled a high school chemistry teacher becoming a powerful drug kingpin through the cooking and sale of a particularly potent meth in the Albuquerque area.

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