Photo from Gersen’s Facebook page

The press release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. had all the makings of a Breaking Bad spin-off: yesterday a 31-year-old former Georgetown law student was sentenced to four years in jail for selling meth.

According to police, Marc Gersen traveled to and from California, where he arranged shipments of meth to D.C. He would often sell the meth in quantities ranging from an ounce to half a pound; the wholesale price of the drug is $26,000 a pound.

In November 2011, police searched his Dupont Circle apartment while he was visiting family in Florida, finding meth, chemicals to make the drug and $3,000 in cash. He was arrested a few days later alongside two other men outside the Beacon Hotel in Dupont Circle, where they were caught packaging a large amount of crystal meth.

The Post dug into Gersen’s background, reporting that he attended Georgetown as an undergrad and later studied economics at the University of California at Berkeley before returning to D.C. for law school. What began as recreational drug use developed into a life of trafficking and selling:

Standing at the courtroom lectern in a jail-issued orange jumpsuit, Gersen engaged in an unusually lengthy dialogue with the judge, sounding philosophical as he reflected on and took responsibility for his troubles. He was using the drugs to feel more carefree and have fun, he said. But his drug operation ultimately had the opposite result, leaving him increasingly anxious about the possibility of landing in the very spot where he stood Thursday.

Gersen will serve his four-year term at a prison camp in Florida, and will have to complete three years of probation, 400 hours of community service and pay $120,000 to the government.