SOUTH FULTON, GEORGIA — Back in February of 2020, Roger Matthis says he was forced to shoot his ex-roommate in self-defense after that roommate kicked in the front door of his home. At the time, Matthis was charged in the shooting, even though the roommate had been cited for disorderly conduct and violence that same month, and Matthis had been granted a protective order against the roommate by a judge who also ordered the roommate to return the house keys to Matthis.
It took 2 years for Matthis to get the charges dropped, but in the meantime he lost his job as a teacher, and the State of Georgia revoked his teaching license after the charges were brought against him.
How could all of this happened in the first place?
“[The roommate] really just played the police officers who didn’t run his name and didn’t do their due diligence to find out who he was,” Matthis said.
“They should’ve done an investigation. I had all the proof that he wasn’t supposed to be there but they said they wanted it to play out in court. I’m glad it didn’t get that far and that justice prevailed. It just took a long time,” he told a reporter.
Home surveillance video of the incident shows the roommate coming through the front door, as well as the shots fired by Matthis.
Matthis has a hearing in January to hopefully get his teaching credentials back. It looks promising, but this is a reminder of the consequences that can happen with a self-defensive shooting, even if you’re justified in your actions.
It took the justice some time with this one, and hopefully Matthis can move forward and start teaching again.
