A southeast Valley principal whose stepson has been arrested in connection with the August beating of another teen and accused in a lawsuit of coordinating a May attack is now on leave.
An email that the Chandler Unified School District sent to parents on Tuesday does not state how Riggs Elementary School Principal Jamie Lander’s leave was initiated. Stephanie Ingersoll, a spokesperson for the district, declined to comment because it’s a personnel matter.
On Monday, The Arizona Republic published statements Lander made to Gilbert police while they were interviewing her stepson in connection with the August assault. Lander sought to intercede on her stepson’s behalf after police reopened the case in December, which she claimed resulted from political pressure, according to police records obtained by The Arizona Republic.
On Aug. 18, Richard Kuehner’s then-16-year-old son was attacked in the parking lot of the Gilbert In-N-Out Burger. Kuehner’s son named Lander’s stepson as one of his attackers that night, but police said they were “unable” to establish probable cause after interviewing him.