The former superintendent of Lowndes County School District, Shawn Haralson, was arrested and charged with 17 felony counts of theft by taking, alongside five counts of unauthorized use of a financial transaction card. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) alleges Haralson funneled school-owned fuel into his personal trucks for his own travel.
While standing accussed of misusing school resources, the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office initiated the investigation on April 3, 2023, and following review, the district attorney's office was handed the case file in the fall of 2023, as detailed by WSB-TV. A grand jury subsequently returned a true bill of indictment on March 1, 2024, leading to Haralson's arrest. While employed by the district, he not only held the reins of leadership but also the nozzle of theft, as alleged.
Haralson, who is 54 and resides in Statesboro, began his tenure as a superintendent on July 1, 2022. His abrupt resignation in June 2023 came amid the swirling allegations, and the Lowndes County School Board has maintained silence on the issue. However, Haralson had previously agreed to pay back $2,800 in an attempt to cover the cost of the gas, a fact reported by the WSB-TV. This amount corresponds to the alleged fuel he wrongfully appropriated.
The case, now moving forward with the prosecution, is being managed by the District Attorney for the Southern Judicial Circuit. With the indictment secured and cuffs slapped on Haralson, the GBI is still seeking information from the community on this matter. They can be reached at their Regional Investigative Office in Thomasville at 229-225-4090, as per GBI's instructions reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. Meanwhile, Haralson's legal future hangs in the balance, tilting towards the scales of justice that the allegations proved to be supported by evidence.
