A teacher was arrested on a charge of assault after allegedly beating up a student and threatening to rape his mother because he spent $4,000 in cash instead of buying marijuana, according to police in New York.
The New York Police Department said that they have arrested 48-year-old Kevin Pope of Manhattan, after being accused of beating the 16-year-old student in the street and stealing his iPhone, gold chain and wallet.
Pope was charged with assault, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and robbery. According to the police investigation, Pope is a science teacher at the John V. Lindsay Wildcats Academy on Lafayette Avenue.
The student told police that he and Pope had a verbal dispute over $4,000. The teacher gave the student the cash to purchase a large amount of marijuana.
However, the student never bought the drugs because the dealer wanted $7,000. Instead of giving the money back to the teacher, the student spent the cash.
On Wednesday around 5:00 p.m., Pope approached the teen and demanded the money back or the marijuana. When the student said that he had no money, the teacher punched him in the face several times.
The teacher then ran away with the student’s iPhone, wallet and gold chain. The student suffered a laceration on his lip and needed staples to close wounds on the back of the head.
In court, Pope’s attorney Japel Filiaci claimed that the student stole the science teacher’s briefcase containing approximately $5,000.