South Gate Parents Outraged by Arrest of Popular Teacher : Education: Supporters say Raymond Jett Jr. is the victim of faculty rivalries. He is charged with making threats to co-workers after being accused of having a handgun in his car.

There were expressions of outrage when South Gate parents gathered Thursday outside a kindergarten classroom whose teacher has been charged with threatening to gun down his colleagues.

Parents aren’t angry with teacher Raymond Jett Jr., though. They are furious at those who have accused him.

Jett, 36, was arrested last week on suspicion of having a handgun in his car at the Montara Street Elementary School faculty parking lot. After posting bail, he was arrested again after allegedly making threats to co-workers he felt were responsible for turning him in.

The parents contend Jett is innocent of those criminal charges and is the victim of unbridled rivalry among teachers at the Montara Street campus.

“I think this could be a setup,” said Maria Hernandez, whose 6-year-old daughter was taught by Jett two years ago. “Ever since I’ve known him they’ve been trying to get rid of him.”

Jett was known for the good rapport he maintained with both pupils and parents at the mostly Latino campus, said Sonia Duran, whose 5-year-old son wrote a letter Thursday to send to the jailed teacher.

“He’s a great teacher,” she said. “I think the other teachers are jealous of him.”

Hernandez and Duran were among a dozen parents who paused outside the campus gates to talk about the misfortune they say has befallen Jett.

Several complained that school officials have refused to discuss Jett’s arrest for fear of causing a backlash among parents. Jett’s 32-pupil kindergarten class is on a year-round school schedule that goes on a lengthy vacation break starting Monday.

“They won’t tell us anything. They’re just leaving us guessing,” said Duran. “We asked at the school office, they said we’d get a letter in the mail. I still haven’t gotten it.”

Jett was arrested Feb. 24 after someone apparently told Principal Juliana Dawson that he had a handgun in his car.

Authorities say Jett was released later that day on a $20,000 bond. But that night he telephoned a substitute teacher at the school and threatened to “mow down” those responsible for his arrest, according to prosecutors.

He was rearrested a week ago and remains in jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.

But accusations that Jett threatened to kill anyone ring hollow with the kindergarten parents who say they know Jett best.

“Lies! Lies! Lies!” is the way Carmen Lopez put it.

“He wouldn’t even let the children bring toy guns for Christmas presents. He wouldn’t let them in the classroom,” said Maria Villarreal.

“In our hearts, we know he’s right. He’s not a bad man at all.”

Although Jett has been described by others as a war enthusiast who collects guns and sometimes re-enacts Civil War battles, the kindergarten parents characterized him as a gentle man who was unruffled even by noisy young children.

“He’s very loving and caring, a father figure,” Hernandez said.

“He gave me his home number in case my son had problems with homework,” Duran said.

“If it wasn’t for Mr. Jett, my boy wouldn’t be speaking English,” Maria Gutierrez said.

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And if Jett had a handgun in his car, there was probably a reason for it, added Maria Ovalle.

“Maybe he needed to defend himself. This can be a rough area,” she said.

As their parents defended their teacher, 5-year-olds Sergio Duran, Jesse Ramirez, Carlos Hernandez, Vanessa Cabrera, Ricardo Villarreal and Elizabeth Melgoza milled about, clutching drawings and letters they had prepared for Jett.

Suddenly, they ran to the school fence and began shouting in unison: “We want Mr. Jett! We want Mr. Jett!”

Inside, Dawson declined to discuss what she characterized as “an ongoing police investigation.”

The parents said they are not finished yet, either.

They plan to travel together to court March 14 to show their support for Jett.

“We want him back,” Duran said.