A Bronx charter-school teacher was freed without bail Saturday on charges he beat a 16-year-old male student senseless over what sources say was a $4,000 pot deal gone bad.
Kevin Pope, 48, went way off the curriculum in teaching student Nazur West a lesson on a Hunts Point street corner on Wednesday, new court papers say.
“Do you want to die?” Pope allegedly said.
He also allegedly threatened: “What should I do with you? I should get someone to rape your mom every day after work!”
Pope had given West $4,000 to buy him marijuana in bulk, sources told The Post. Instead of buying weed, West spent the money, the sources said.
At arraignment Saturday in Bronx criminal court, Pope’s lawyer, Japel Filiaci, claimed the dispute was actually over $5,000 that Pope had in a briefcase as he waited for a bus.
The student stole the briefcase, and Pope was the real victim, he alleged.
Pope declined to comment as he left the hearing.
Pope is a “very good guy” who lives by himself and seems to be constantly working, said the super at his Harlem apartment.
“He’s a very good person — I don’t see him like that [involved in drugs or violence],” said the super, Ferdinand West, 50, who is not related to the student.