Former Lakewood High teacher shot man having sex with wife, report states
A former Lakewood High School music teacher shot a man who was having sex with his wife in the couple’s home early Wednesday, according to an arrest report.
The Tampa Bay Times reported Wednesday that St. Petersburg police arrested Jacob Woodside Merrett, 35, on an attempted first-degree murder charge after investigators determined he shot a man inside his home on the 600 block of 64th Avenue South. At the time, police said Merrett and the man knew each other but did not release more details.
The man was taken to an area hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, a police spokesperson said Thursday.
An arrest affidavit released Thursday includes details on what police said led up to the shooting.
Merrett’s wife told police that she and Merrett have an open relationship and that, about a week before the shooting, Merrett told her he didn’t want her to see the victim anymore, according to the report.
Merrett’s wife told police that on Wednesday evening, Merrett saw a text message from the victim on her cellphone and demanded to see it. Merrett’s wife refused, and he left the house during the argument, according to the affidavit.
When Merrett returned later, his wife refused to let him into the home out of fear for her safety, and the couple agreed he would leave for the night, according to the affidavit. After Merrett left, the victim arrived and he and Merrett’s wife went into the primary bedroom and began to have sex.
At that point, Merrett entered the house and called 911 to report that someone was raping his wife. He then shot the man multiple times with a semi-automatic handgun, claiming not to know him, according to the affidavit.
Merrett “entered the residence knowing of (his wife’s) relationship with the victim and shot him numerous times causing potentially mortal wounds,” the affidavit states.
The victim’s name is redacted from a copy of the affidavit released by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. A copy that the St. Petersburg Police Department released to the Times on Wednesday was nearly completely redacted. A police spokesperson cited an active investigation for the redactions.
Merrett was being held without bail Thursday in the Pinellas County Jail, records show.
A Pinellas County Schools spokesperson told the Times on Wednesday that Merrett was hired by the district in 2011 and he left in October 2022. At the time of his departure, he was an assistant principal at Disston Academy for Progress and Enterprise in Gulfport and was dismissed from that post during his probationary period, the spokesperson said.
Merrett’s personal website says he taught music at Lakewood High School and served as the chairperson of the performing arts department for more than a decade. The site says Merrett “provides a wide range of services to suit your needs in music, education, or operations.”
Merrett’s Facebook page says he is a “program manager” at the BLI Institute in Pinellas Park, and the institute’s website listed him as a “high school teacher/music director.” A person who answered the phone at the BLI Institute on Wednesday said Merrett left the institute about two months ago and that the website needed to be updated. The person declined to provide more information.
