Billy the Exterminator arrested for drugs

William "Billy" Bretherton, star of the A&E reality TV show Billy the Exterminator, was arrested on drug possession charges in his home state of Louisiana. Bossier City spokesman Mark Natale said Tuesday that a warrant was issued last week for Bretherton and his wife, Mary, after items recovered from their hotel room tested positive for synthetic marijuana. They surrendered to authorities Friday, posted $6,000 bond each and were released later that day, Natale said.

The reality show follows Bretherton, a pest control specialist in north Louisiana, as he responds to calls to wrangle, trap, or kill various critters and pests, among them bees, snakes, and cockroaches.

Natale said police were called on April 28 to a Bossier City hotel following a 911 hang-up call from the room. He said police found the Brethertons, both of Benton, La., with suspected synthetic marijuana and a device commonly used to smoke narcotics.

A&E did not immediately reply to a request for comment and it was unclear whether the Brethertons have an attorney.

Bretherton is founder of the Louisiana-based, family-owned pest control business, Vexcon LLC. Messages left at the business Tuesday were not immediately returned. A residential listing for the Brethertons was unavailable.

In a video on A&E, the spikey-haired Bretherton says he's been in the extermination business for more than 20 years and tries to set most animals he catches free. "I believe in karma," he said in the video. "If I killed indiscriminately I think it would eventually come back to haunt me."