Courtney Janell Shaw, Georgia assistant school principal arrested in Walmart Self Checkout scam which saw educator stealing over 98 items worth nearly $1000 over two months. Free Home Elementary School assistant principal placed on admin leave.
Probably not this year’s school moral exemplar … A Georgia elementary school assistant principal is alleged to have stolen 98 items worth nearly $1,000 from a Walmart using a ‘stacking’ scheme at self-checkout kiosks.
Courtney Janell Shaw, 47, was arrested Monday by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office after authorities were alerted that the educator had allegedly been stealing merchandise from a Walmart in Woodstock—about 30 miles north of Atlanta—for more than two months, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Assistant Principal accused of elaborate Walmart Self Checkout Scheme
Investigators say Shaw, an assistant principal at Free Home Elementary School, stole at total of 98 items valued at $943.97 between November and December. Authorities allege the educator used an ingenuous ‘stacking’ method at self-checkout kiosks, placing multiple items on top of one another and scanning only a single item before leaving the store.
A Walmart employee provided surveillance footage of the alleged thefts to authorities on Jan. 12 and used a driver’s license database to identify Shaw as the suspect, according to the report.
Investigators also identified two vehicles seen in the footage—a 2018 Ford F-150 and a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee—both registered to Shaw and later located at her residence.
Educator veteran and school leader fails to live up to benchmark
Shaw was booked into the Cherokee County jail and charged with one felony count of shoplifting. She was released later the same day on a $4,875 bond.
Free Home Elementary School officials said Shaw, a mother of one, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of internal and law enforcement investigations.
The veteran educator’s career spans more than two decades and includes leadership roles as an assistant principal at two other elementary schools.
Shaw had previously been praised on the school district’s website, stating she ‘brings a wealth of experience and dedication to her role as Assistant Principal at Free Home.’
