VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Charges against the man accused of pulling out a gun on a Tidewater Community College professor were reduced during a hearing on Thursday.
Jarod Jones
Police say the incident happened at the school's Virginia Beach campus in June.
Jarod Jones, 38, is accused of threatening a female professor with a gun inside a bathroom.
Officials said the teacher was screaming and suspect got away, causing the school to go on lockdown. Jones was caught a few days later.
Authorities say Jones was a former student at the school.
We interviewed college staff the day the incident happened.
"For me my heart just goes into my throat,” Marian Anderfuren, the campus’ Public Information Officer said. “And, you hope that nobody is hurt. But in any type of school you have to be ready and prepared to deal with something like this"
Jones was facing several charges including abduction and possession of a firearm. The professor involved in the incident has requested protective orders against Jones.
In court on Thursday, a judge reduced the charges, leaving Jones with a misdemeanor charge of brandishing a firearm, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, four counts of failing to register as a sex offender, and driving on a suspended operator's license.
The last few times Jones was before a city judge he said the government was out to get him and the judge called him combative. He has been held in isolation at the Virginia Beach jail.
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