Alabama woman charged with threatening teacher with baseball bat over confiscated earbuds
Published 8:57 am Friday, September 30, 2022
An Alabama woman was arrested on charges of threatening a teacher with a baseball bat at Keith High School last week.
According to Dallas County Sheriff Mike Granthum and Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson, Latarsha Jones of Orrville walked down the hall with an aluminum baseball bat, approached a male teacher leaving his classroom and an argument began on September 21.
Granthum said the incident involved earbuds that a teacher confiscated from a student who wore them in class.
In a video of the incident, a student ran up and took the bat away from Jones. The video also showed the suspect confront the teacher.
DCSO arrived on the scene to investigate, but Jones had already departed.
Dallas County Schools Superintendent Anthony Sampson said the school’s “staff followed our emergency safety protocols.”
Sampson also said that he is grateful the school system has a strong relationship with the DCSO.
Jones was charged with making a terrorist threat, which is a Class-C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Granthum sad that Jones was arrested on September 22 and taken to the Dallas County Jail, but later released on a $15,000 bond.
Granthum says the investigation is still underway and charges could happen in the near future.
“The kid should not have brought earbuds to school and the parent should not be threatening a teacher,” Granthum said. “If the parent had a problem with the teacher, she should have gone to either the Principal or the Dallas County School Board. Nobody’s going to come into Dallas county and make a threat to one of these teachers, This will not be tolerated.”
Jackson also called the suspect’s actions unacceptable.
“The safety of the students, teachers, and school employees will always a top priority,” Jackson said. “There is no excuse for anybody to get angry enough to think that it’s okay to bring a bat on a school campus to strike someone.”