A DeKalb County School District paraprofessional allegedly admitted to stealing a 9-year-old student’s violin to pay for a $700 ticket, police said.
Kalif Jones, 21, of Stone Mountain, stole the violin, which is valued at $750, while students at Brockett Elementary School were eating lunch in the cafeteria, according to an incident report obtained by Channel 2 Action News.
School district spokeswoman Shumuriel Ratliff told AJC.com that Jones has been fired.
After learning that security cameras recorded the incident, he admitted to DeKalb school police investigators what he did, Channel 2 reported.
The investigation began in late November after the student came home without his instrument, and the child’s mother called the school’s principal to report it stolen, the news station reported.
School administrators reviewed surveillance video that allegedly showed Jones taking the violin and walking through the school with the case before leaving with it, the report said. The video hasn’t been released publicly.
Jones has been charged with a count of misdemeanor theft, according to jail records. He was released on bond the next day. Jones did not respond to the news station’s request for comment.
The student’s mother spoke to Channel 2 and said the violin has been recovered by police.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the suspect as a teacher.
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