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From Civic Leader to Meth Addict

A former ‘Citizen of Year’ from Port Orange has descended into a life of meth making in a real-life version of "Breaking Bad," reports the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Pete Atwood, 66, has spent the last five years moving from motel to motel, cooking methamphetamine with people half his age. He has been arrested six times since leaving his wife of 30 years penniless and on food stamps, police records show.

Atwood’s ex-wife. Jayne Atwood, says her former husband’s drug addiction began in 1992 after he began taking pain pills because of a car accident.

Before his drug addiction, Atwood was described as someone who would help anyone in need. Atwood was vice president of the Port Orange Family Days, carnival but served two years probation for stealing $21,395 from the organization, the News-Journal reports.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.