SLO County school board member accused of shoplifting in unusual felony case
A Shandon school board member is facing a felony theft charge after allegedly shoplifting from Target — following previous thefts at Vons and Albertsons — according to court records.
Jennifer Moe, who serves as a school board member for the Shandon Joint Unified School District, is accused of stealing property from Target on Dec. 20 of last year, according to a court complaint filed in January.
The Paso Robles Police Department confirmed to The Tribune that it was the investigating agency for the incident.
Chief Damian Nord told The Tribune that Moe was accused of stealing three Stanley cups from the Paso Robles Target.
She was charged with petty theft, which is typically a misdemeanor, but the charge was raised to a felony due to two previous theft convictions on Moe’s record, documents showed.
Moe previously pleaded no contest to two charges stemming from alleged shoplifting incidents at Albertsons in Paso Robles and Vons, both in 2017, documents showed.
A no contest plea means that Moe accepted the consequences of the charges without technically admitting guilt to the crime.
Moe’s lawyer, John Carlson, told The Tribune on Thursday that he plans to contest the current felony charge, stating that the incident was a “misunderstanding.”
Carlson said Moe entered a not guilty plea in the current case at an arraignment on April 6. He characterized Moe as a responsible and dedicated mother and highlighted the fact that her prior convictions happened years ago.
Moe did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story, and the Shandon Joint Unified School District declined to comment.
Moe is scheduled for a pre-preliminary hearing on June 1.
