EXCLUSIVE: Accused of threatening students, Lakeside teacher breaks silence

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - In a News 12 exclusive, a Lakeside High School teacher, accused of threatening his students in class, is breaking his silence.

Jerry Meitin was arrested in September on charges of terroristic threats.

We caught up with Meitin at his home, which is only about 2.5 miles away from Lakeside, where warrants say he “threatened to shoot multiple students if he had a gun.”

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He says the entire thing has been taken way out of context, and while he doesn’t remember exactly what he said, he remembers making a joke and students laughing.

Meredith: “Why did you want to sit down to talk about this?

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Meitin: “Well, mostly because anyone who knows me, the people I’ve worked with, the people I go to church with, the people in my neighborhood, they all know without a doubt that I did not threaten my students. I don’t even have to explain my side of it to them. They understand me, and they know me, so they’re certain that I did not threaten my students.”

Meitin: “However, that’s a small group of people in the CSRA, and the people that don’t know me don’t know that. And so, I’m hopeful that maybe we can convince a few more of those people that I really didn’t threaten my students.”

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Meitin says his arrest was a surprise.

He had no idea he was facing charges until Columbia County Board of Education Police and a Columbia County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at his home and arrested him.

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We’ve talked to several supportive students, who flooded social media with comments and created a GoFundMe page for donations.