Judge sets bond for man accused of school threat

ROSWELL, Ga. — A Fulton County judge granted bond Friday to a Cumming man accused of threatening to shoot up schools.

Joseph Medved, 51, faces charges of terroristic threats and acts after, investigators said, he made the threat at a Roswell methadone clinic Wednesday.

Forsyth County deputies arrested Medved Thursday at his home after neighbors reported he was firing a shotgun on his property.

Deputies said Medved also tried to purchase a rifle but had to wait 24 hours to pick it up because of a routine criminal background check.

In court Friday, a judge set Medved's bond at $50,000 straight cash and warned him to stay away from schools and to relinquish his weapons if he got out of jail.

Prosecutors had argued for no bond, saying Medved was a danger to society who might make good on his threats. But his public defender disputed those allegations.

"Judge, he has very serious medical issues," said Eric Cho. "Judge, he has ties to the community, he has no previous convictions for anything like this."

Cho said his client made no overt acts.

"I would never do that," Medved told the judge about allegations he would shoot children.

"Obviously, we understand there's some heightened scrutiny based on recent events," said Cho.

Medved's son, John Medved, told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik this was all a misunderstanding.

"Honestly, my dad's not that bad of a guy," he said. "He's just misinterpreted in a lot of ways."

The younger Medved said his father is on several prescription medications and is not thinking clearly.

"He's not at fault," he said. "Mentally, he doesn't understand what he's doing."

WSBTV