Witness: SRJC instructor complained about students prior to his arrest

A debate over whether men are better at science than women escalated into a heated argument that led to the arrest of a Santa Rosa Junior College chemistry teacher accused of threatening a female colleague and a female student, a witness said.

The instructor, John Peter Melbardis, 44, was taken to jail July 24 after he threatened to hit one of the women and backed the other into a wall, preventing her from leaving, police said. The Rohnert Park man resigned his position later that day, according to an SRJC spokeswoman.

Multiple attempts to reach Melbardis over three days were not successful.

Bill Cusworth, a lab coordinator at the college, said he witnessed most of the confrontation, which played out near the stockroom in Bech Hall, the campus’ chemistry building. The room doubles as an office for Cusworth and another employee, who also was present. Cusworth called police once the situation escalated, he said.

His account of the incident adds new detail to information relayed last week by the Santa Rosa Junior College Police Department.

Cusworth said the incident began to unfold around 11:30 a.m., when Melbardis walked into the stockroom and began venting about an anonymous complaint sent to school administrators by a student who claimed the instructor was a tough grader with no empathy.

Erin Bricker, a school spokeswoman, said there was no record of any formal complaints filed against Melbardis, who had worked as an adjunct instructor at SRJC since 2012.

The conversation eventually turned into a debate between Melbardis, Cusworth and a female colleague after Melbardis said men were better than women at science, Cusworth said.

“He basically got agitated with us for not agreeing,” Cusworth said. “He yelled and went out into the hallway, and that’s where people started noticing what was going on.”

A different teacher then entered the stockroom and asked what was happening. Melbardis returned minutes later, and more calmly explained that there were “no good students” at the school, Cusworth said.

The conversation was overheard by two female students, who were sitting near the stockroom and chimed in by saying perhaps Melbardis was just a bad teacher.

The stockroom is outfitted with a large, open counter space where students can ask Cusworth and other lab employees for help or additional tools, Cusworth explained.

The argument escalated when Melbardis asserted the 9/11 terrorist attacks were a lie, Cusworth said.

“He started going back and forth with (the students) and things started getting more and more agitated,” he said.

A female SRJC employee who works in Bech Hall walked over and told Melbardis to stop yelling at the student and return to his office, Cusworth said.

“So he dropped his bag and said something like, ‘You wanna go?’?” Cusworth said, adding that Melbardis had his fists raised at that point. The woman moved away from Melbardis and asked Cusworth to call police, which he did.

Melbardis then advanced toward one of the students in the hallway, Cusworth said. Though he did not get a clear view of what happened, Cusworth said other witnesses described Melbardis as pushing “the student up to a wall with his chest.” Police arrived about three minutes later, he said.

Melbardis was booked into jail on suspicion of false imprisonment and disturbing the peace on school grounds, and faced an additional 14-day ban from the campus. He was released from the Sonoma County Jail after paying a bond for his $1,000 bail.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the incident and has not yet filed charges in the case, said Joseph Langenbahn, an office spokesman. Melbardis is scheduled to appear Aug. 21 in Sonoma County Superior Court.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.