Ex-DeKalb superintendent arrested after physical dispute with wife, police say
Former DeKalb County Superintendent Devon Horton was arrested Saturday after police officers determined a verbal dispute with his wife turned physical.
A spokesperson for the DeKalb County Police Department said Sunday that officers responded to a domestic call on Chedworth Lane in Stone Mountain. Property records show that’s where Horton and his wife own a home.
He was arrested Saturday afternoon and booked into the jail on two charges: aggravated assault/strangulation and cruelty to children in the third degree. Children were present at the time of the assault, the police spokesperson said.
Horton is accused of putting his hands around his wife’s neck after she told him to not slam a door in the home, according to his arrest warrant obtained Sunday by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police said the woman’s 5-year-old child saw Horton choke her and push her toward a wall.
While there were no visible injuries, the wife told police that she felt like “she would faint” during the incident, the warrant stated.
Horton was hired to lead the state’s third-largest school district in 2023. He resigned in October after he was indicted on federal charges in Illinois related to a kickback scheme at his old job.
The indictment accused Horton of steering district contracts in the Evanston-Skokie School District 65 outside of Chicago to his longtime friends, then getting about $85,000 in kickbacks from the contracts between 2020 and 2023.
Horton was the district’s superintendent during that time period. He was also accused of misusing his district-issued purchasing card and tax evasion.
Horton pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Catch up: Devon Horton in DeKalb schools
Most recently
- DeKalb Superintendent Devon Horton indicted on criminal charges, officials say
- Georgia schools leader pleads not guilty to federal charges
- DeKalb superintendent’s alleged financial misdeeds were public before 2023 hiring
- Before indictment of schools chief, DeKalb audited P-cards. Here’s what they found.
- TORPY: The man who told you so about DeKalb’s indicted school superintendent
Before he was hired
- DeKalb superintendent finalist a polarizing figure in current district
- DeKalb superintendent finalist answers tough questions at town hall
- DeKalb County school board split on best choice for superintendent
- Devon Horton starts as DeKalb’s superintendent amid hope and skepticism
As superintendent
- DeKalb school board approves hires with ties to new superintendent
- DeKalb superintendent still owes penalty to his old school district for leaving
- DeKalb superintendent had a busy first year on the job. What’s next?
- DeKalb aims to train 150 new teachers in 2 years with residency programs
- In DeKalb, one-on-one mentoring showing early success for at-risk students
- DeKalb graduation rate tops 80% for first time as Georgia rates reach new high
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About the Authors
Cassidy Alexander covers Georgia education issues for the AJC. She previously covered education for The Daytona Beach News-Journal, and was named Florida's Outstanding New Journalist of the Year.
