School assistant principal arrested for stealing items worth $1,000 from Walmart

Friday, January 30, 2026 - Georgia elementary school assistant principal has been accused of stealing 98 items worth about $1,000 from Walmart using a “stacking” scheme at self-checkout kiosks. 

Courtney Janell Shaw, 47, was arrested Monday, Jan. 26, by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office after authorities were alerted that she had been stealing goods from the retail giant in Woodstock, about 30 miles outside Atlanta, for more than two months. 

Shaw, an assistant principal at Free Home Elementary School, allegedly stole 98 items valued at $943.97 from Walmart between November and December. 

Investigators said Shaw used a “stacking” method at self-checkout kiosks, placing multiple items on top of one another and scanning only one before leaving the store. 

A Walmart employee provided authorities with surveillance footage of the alleged thefts on Jan. 12 and used a driver’s license database to identify Shaw as the suspect, according to the outlet. 

Authorities said two suspicious vehicles seen in the surveillance footage — a 2018 Ford F-150 and a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee — were registered to Shaw and later located at her residence. 

Shaw was booked into the Cherokee County jail and charged with one felony count of shoplifting following her arrest on Monday. 

The mother of one was released later that day on a $4,875 bond. 

Officials at Free Home Elementary School in Cherokee County said Shaw has been placed on administrative leave. 

“Immediately upon these allegations being reported, the employee was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of internal and law enforcement investigations,” the district told Fox 5 Atlanta. 

“Maintaining the safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority and inappropriate conduct will never be tolerated.” 

The veteran educator’s career spans more than two decades and includes leadership roles as an assistant principal at two other elementary schools. 

Shaw is not the first high-ranking school official accused of using Walmart self-checkout to steal items. 

In Florida, Bok Academy North principal Gregory Lewis was at a Walmart in Polk County in March 2025 when an asset protection officer observed him “skip scanning” at the self-checkout.