US Assistant Principal Arrested For Stealing Items Worth Rs 90,000 Using Walmart Self-Checkout Scheme

Last Updated:January 29, 2026, 20:14 IST

Courtney Janell Shaw, assistant principal at Free Home Elementary, was arrested for allegedly stealing 98 Walmart items worth $943.97 using a stacking method.

Courtney Janell Shaw, an at an Home Elementary, was arrested for allegedly stealing 98 Walmart items worth $943.97 using a stacking method. (AI Image)

A Georgia elementary school assistant principal has been arrested after being accused of repeatedly stealing merchandise worth almost $1000 from Walmart using a self-checkout “stacking" method, authorities said.

Courtney Janell Shaw, 47, was taken into custody on Monday by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office following an investigation into alleged thefts at a Walmart store in Woodstock, around 30 miles north of Atlanta.

According to investigators, Shaw, an assistant principal at Free Home Elementary School, is accused of stealing 98 items worth $943.97 between November and December. Authorities said she used a “stacking" technique at self-checkout kiosks, placing multiple items together and scanning only one before leaving the store.

A Walmart employee alerted police after reviewing surveillance footage from January 12 that allegedly showed the thefts. Using a driver’s license database, the employee identified Shaw as the suspect, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Investigators also linked two vehicles seen in the footage, a 2018 Ford F-150 and a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee, to Shaw. Both vehicles were registered in her name and later found at her residence, authorities said.

Shaw was booked into the Cherokee County jail on one felony count of shoplifting and was released later the same day on a $4,875 bond.

School officials confirmed that Shaw has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of internal and law enforcement investigations.

“Immediately upon these allegations being reported, the employee was placed on administrative leave," the school district said in a statement. “Maintaining the safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority, and inappropriate conduct will not be tolerated."

A veteran educator with more than two decades of experience, Shaw began her career as a fifth-grade teacher in North Carolina before teaching multiple grades in Florida. She moved into school leadership in 2012 and later served as assistant principal at Oak Grove Fine Arts Academy and Bascomb Elementary. In 2024, she joined Free Home Elementary as its first full-time assistant principal.

The school had previously praised Shaw on its website, citing her “wealth of experience and dedication" to the role.

Shaw is not the first senior school official to face such allegations. In March 2025, a Florida school principal was similarly accused of using a Walmart self-checkout kiosk to steal items after allegedly “skip scanning" merchandise, according to local reports. 

News world US Assistant Principal Arrested For Stealing Items Worth Rs 90,000 Using Walmart Self-Checkout Scheme

Read More