East Coweta High School principal violent charges dropped
The Brief
The Coweta County District Attorney's Office dropped all charges against East Coweta High School Principal Stephen Allen, initially accused of domestic violence.
Allen was initially arrested for misdemeanors related to allegations that Allen threatened his son with a gun.
An investigation revealed the son's claims were fabricated, and evidence appeared to show Allen acted in self-defense.
It remains uncertain when Principal Allen will resume his duties at the high school.
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - The Coweta County District Attorney's Office has dropped all charges against the East Coweta High School principal, who was accused of domestic violence last month.
What we know
Stephen "Steve" Allen is the principal of East Coweta High School. On Feb. 24, he was arrested at his home on Rock Mill Court regarding an alleged domestic dispute.
The backstory
District Attorney John H. Cranford, Jr., said Allen was initially arrested for two misdemeanors: criminal trespass for damaging a door inside his home, and battery-family violence for allegedly causing visible bruising to his 33-year-old son.
The son also told deputies Allen pulled a gun on him and threatened to shoot him.
At that time, Cranford said he opted to initiate an expedited review of his case, with a felony charge pending for aggravated assault.
What's New?
Through an investigation, officials came to the conclusion that the allegations made against Allen were fabricated by his son, Williams "Taber" Allen.
According to officials, Taber was at home drinking in the family's garage on Feb. 24. He reportedly got into an argument with his father, during which Allen allegedly told him multiple times to stop drinking.
Witnesses said Allen poured out his son's alcoholic beverage. Taber allegedly responded by smiling and grabbing another one.
After the first blow-up, Taber allegedly went to his room while Allen and his wife, Kelli, stayed in the garage to watch television.
Between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., family and friends texted Allen stating Taber posted on Facebook accusing his father of holding a gun to his head and threatening to shoot him. Allen and Kelli tried to confront their son in his bedroom, but the door was locked. Allen admitted he punched the door, damaging it and cutting his knuckle. Using her fingernail, Kelli unlocked the door.
That's when officials said Taber jumped up from his bed, pushed his father and said, "You want to go?" Allen admitted he took his son to the ground.
Kelli called 911 at 10:14 p.m., telling the operator her son was "belligerent and attacking my husband."
When deputies arrived, they said Taber told them the following story:
"…he closes the garage and he goes into his safe, and makes it seem like he's going to get a gun and then he puts either a gun, I don't know I don't see it, or his knuckles or something to the back of my head and says 'are you ready, we're both going, I'm ready for us to both go.' I swear to God that's what happened and the cameras in there should prove it. And I said, 'yea let's go.' Then at that point, they come through, the neighbor and my sister's boyfriend, come through the other door, pull him off of me."
Deputies asked Allen about the security cameras and requested to see the footage.
"I mean, y'all are welcome to take it and look at it all you want to," Allen told the deputies after complying and pulling the videos up on his cell phone.
"I'm good," one of the deputies responded. In a review of the incident, the deputy made it clear he did not see any evidence of Allen holding a gun to his son's head, or pretending to.
What they're saying
While it's clear some sort of altercation took place that night, District Attorney Cranford's review of the evidence suggests Allen was defending himself against his son. He was not the aggressor. The report also states that Allen was technically given consent by his wife to damage his own door.
They used the contents of Kelli's 911 call to drop the charges.
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What's next
It's not clear how soon Principal Allen will return to work.
It's also not clear if any charges will be brought against Taber.
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