INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

New York City Teacher Allegedly Beats Up And Robs Student Over Failed Drug Deal

By Robert Jonathan
Published on: 11:20 PST, Sep 24, 2016

A science teacher may or may not have been breaking bad when he allegedly assaulted a 16-year-old student over a pot purchase that went sour.

The suspect who was arrested yesterday morning teaches at the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy, a charter school located in the Hunts Point neighborhood in the South Bronx.

Identified by multiple media outlets as Kevin Pope, 48, the teacher allegedly lost $4,000 in cash after he enlisted the aid of the student in a buy of a pound of weed back in June, which he reportedly may have sought to resell.

“But after the dealer asked for $7,000, the teen backed out of the deal and walked off with Pope’s money, cops said. On Wednesday, the troubled teacher approached the teen, demanding his money back,” the New York Daily News explained.

According to the New York Post, the teacher “beat the teen senseless when he found out the kid pocketed the cash, police sources said.”

After the new school year started, the teacher confronted the student a couple of blocks from the school and demanded a refund from the botched June drug deal. When the student admitted the didn’t have the drug money, the teacher allegedly attacked him and walked off with his iPhone, gold chain, and wallet, according to the Post.

“Pope repeatedly punched the youth in the face, knocking him backward into the glass window of a local business before the teen collapsed on the sidewalk, a criminal complaint charged,” the Daily News separately reported.

He also allegedly threatened to kill the student and have his mother raped if the teen was unable to come up with the missing cash. The victim’s wounds on the back of his head were reportedly so severe that doctors need to staple them closed.

Authorities released Pope without bail today, subject to a restraining order ordering him to keep away from the teen or his mom.

The teacher faces charges including assault, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and robbery.

“In court, his attorney claimed the altercation happened because teen stole the teacher’s brief case containing $5,000. It is unclear if Pope has been suspended or fired over the incident,” the Daily Mail noted.

Surveillance video exits of the throwdown over the alleged extracurricular drug debt or perhaps an unconventional science project, so that footage may provide more clarity about the incident. The video has yet to be released into the public domain, however. At least one witness may have seen what happened on the Bronx street corner as well.

“If you’re wondering just how this kind of arrangement could happen, John V. Lindsay is a private charter school for older students who have dropped out of traditional schools or who have criminal histories. We’re not assuming that this couldn’t happen at a ‘regular’ school, but just saying,” the HipHopWired website observed about what it called a “brutal math lesson” administered by the science teacher.

Commenting on the teacher’s reputation, “Students, neighbors and co-workers were equally surprised saying that he was a kind man that was always willing to help and never appeared to be ‘shady,'” the website added.

Founded in 1993, converting to charter status in the year 2000, and named after the former NYC mayor, the alternative, privately run and publicly-funded high school seeks to provide its students “with the personalized educational experiences they need to build successful futures by overcoming the economic, social and personal challenges that caused them to fail in other high schools,” its mission statement details. It also operates a Manhattan campus in addition to the one in the Bronx.

[Featured Image by Doug Shutter/Shutterstock]

Share this article: New York City Teacher Allegedly Beats Up And Robs Student Over Failed Drug Deal
More from Inquisitr