Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Teacher tried to kill ex-boyfriend, police say

She took three friends to a bar to attack him, investigators say. Three other people were wounded.

By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published January 12, 2006

	Betty Jean Johnson, a teacher at Cahoon Elementary in Tampa, is on leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

TAMPA - Tampa police say Betty Jean Johnson gave warning she would "get" her ex-boyfriend.

The 29-year-old elementary school teacher made good on that promise Saturday morning, say investigators who accused her of recruiting three friends to attack Tommy Mathis, 33, at his regular weekend hangout, Gene's Bar.

The shooting that followed left three people wounded, and Johnson in jail Wednesday night.

A special education instructor at Cahoon Elementary for five years, Johnson was arrested Wednesday on first-degree attempted murder and battery charges in connection with the brawl outside the N 22nd St. tavern just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

Johnson had not been to school this week, police spokesman Joe Durkin said.

Johnson and three friends from Belle Glade waited outside Gene's for Mathis to emerge, Durkin said. When Mathis walked out, the three unidentified men confronted him and a large brawl broke out.

In the middle of the melee, one of Johnson's three friends pulled out a pistol and began firing. He aimed at Mathis, and Mathis fell, Durkin said, pretending to be hit though he was uninjured.

Three other patrons who came to Mathis' defense were not so lucky.

Levi Dukes, 37, suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Darrell Simmons, 33, received a gunshot in his torso.

Dukes was reported in fair condition at Tampa General Hospital. Police said Simmons also was taken to TGH, and had been listed in critical condition, although the hospital could not confirm that Wednesday.

Lewis Jackson, 28, was shot in his upper right leg. Jackson was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Witnesses told police that Johnson and her three unidentified friends fled the scene in an dark colored, older model Buick. The rear window had been shattered.

Though Johnson was questioned by police the day of the incident, Durkin said, investigators spent the week gathering evidence. Johnson's three friends remained at large Wednesday night, their identities still unknown.

Durkin described Johnson as uncooperative after she was arrested at her home, 2613 Pioneer Days Lane in Tampa. She admits being at the bar, he said, but would not share information with police about her friends.

Gene's Bar has long been at the center of controversy, as neighbors and City Council members decried its impact on the neighborhood. In fact, discussion of the bar is on today's council agenda.

"I want them to close it down," Tampa City Council member Gwen Miller said Wednesday, describing Gene's as a haven for drug trafficking and other illegal activity.

"I knew something was going to happen there," Miller said.

In December, police Capt. Gerald Honeywell told council members the police were stepping up surveillance at the bar at 2932 N. 22nd St. Durkin said Wednesday he couldn't comment on ongoing police operations involving the bar because he wouldn't want to jeopardize any investigations.

Bar owner Eugene O'Steen was reached briefly by the Times Wednesday night, but the call to his cell phone dropped before he could answer any questions. Attempts to reach him after that were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, school officials said they are very concerned about the reported activities of one of their own.

Johnson was placed on paid leave pending the outcome of an in-house investigation into her situation. Durkin said she'd called the school after the weekend incident and told them she would be out until Thursday.

"That doesn't really conform with the code of ethics for teachers," spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said of Johnson's charges. "We'll look very closely at this case."

School board members could vote as soon as next week on whether to suspend her without pay.

Johnson was being held without bond at Orient Road Jail late Wednesday. Mathis couldn't be reached for comment.

Told of Johnson's arrest, one of the victim's family members declined to comment Wednesday, saying she was worried because there were other people still at large who might harm her family.

Staff writer Janet Zink and Times news researchers Caryn Baird and Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Rebecca Catalanello can be reached at rcatalanello@sptimes.com or 813 226-3383.

[Last modified January 12, 2006, 18:28:12]