Case Dismissed Against Ava Elementary Teacher

Teacher Makes Restitution

In a statement released by the Douglas County Prosecuting Attor­ney, the indictment filed by the State of Missouri against Lisa Johnson in January 2014 was dismissed by the State on October 28, 2014.

In an interview with Prosecutor Roger Wall, he stated that there was a distinct possibility of the case be­ing continued upon motion by the defendant into 2015. Therefore, the case involving the alleged theft by Lisa Johnson, a teacher with Ava R-1 Schools, of three school related funds was dismissed on Tuesday. Those funds included the Ava High School Booster Club, the Project Gradua­tion Fund and the Mighty Mites Football fund.

In an informal deferred prosecu­tion agreement, the defendant agreed not to violate the law and to pay back the alleged missing funds. In return, the State agreed to dismiss all pending charges against Johnson without prejudice.

Wall went on to state, without re­ferring to the facts of the Johnson case, that embezzlement cases are complex and usually involve the alleged taking of cash, which leaves no easily traceable paper trail.