MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A teacher at North Beach Elementary school bonded out of jail after, police said, he attacked his neighbor.
Nelson Martinez, who is listed as a Spanish teacher at the school, was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor battery charge.
Martinez’s neighbors said the 64-year-old suspect has been a menace for a while, but it all escalated when he allegedly became physical with one of his neighbors outside his condo.
According to Miami Beach Police, Martinez’s neighbor was taking photos of his bicycle when Martinez came outside upset, grabbed the neighbor by his shirt and shoved him away from the front of his apartment door.
Parents at North Beach Elementary learned of Martinez’s arrest on Monday. They were taken aback, but were also relieved to hear the incident did not involve a student.
“It’s really sad to hear in general that somebody is being aggressive towards people,” said Marnie Gluck. “I’m happy that it was not anything to do with the school or any students were hurt.”
“Normally if there’s an incident or whatnot they let us know right away just to put our mind at ease, but so far we haven’t heard anything,” said Vitaly Godun.
“That’s a little disturbing. I’m just glad it wasn’t a kid,” said Raj Raghani.
Some students and parents, however, said they weren’t too shocked, as he’s been known in the school to have a little bit of a temper.
“My son, he’s in the school, he said [Martinez is] not polite, he’s rude, and he’s sometimes very mean with the kids,” said a mother.
Parents now hope Martinez won’t be returning to the school.
“It’s not just my son. A lot of kids say that he’s mean, so the school should do something before,” said that mother.
When asked whether or not she thinks Martinez should be around kids, the mother said “absolutely not.”
Martinez was released Monday morning on a $1,000 bond. The Miami-Dade School District said they are working on a response in regard to his employment status.
Miami-Dade Public Schools officials released a statement on Monday that reads:
“Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is aware of the off-campus arrest of a teacher at North Beach Elementary School involving a matter that occurred outside of school hours. As this is a personal legal matter unrelated to the individual’s professional duties, we will not comment further.”
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