Richmond County school principal arrested on DUI charge
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Cross Creek High School Principal Laquanda Brown Carpenter has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Laquanda Carpenter has been the principal of Cross Creek Comprehensive High School since July 2024.
Her LinkedIn page shows she was the principal of Langford Middle School prior.
We spoke with a parent who asked to remain anonymous.
She says her son went to school at Langford Middle School when Carpenter was the principal there.
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“It’s a reflection on the school. It’s a reflection of her. She represents the school, and if that’s who represents the school, then I will never have my child under her ever again,” said the mom.
Before this school year, she removed her son from the Richmond County School System and into Columbia County schools.
She says she feels situations like these set bad examples for students.
“How is any person supposed to tell their kids to look up to their teachers? You’re in a position where you’re supposed to teach consequences to your actions. What is that teaching kids? That teaches them nothing at all,” she said.
The arrest – which the Richmond County School System said it’s aware of – happened across the Savannah River around 1 a.m. Sunday on Bergen Road in North Augusta, according to authorities.
The North Augusta Department of Public Safety said in an incident report that the arrest came after an officer followed a black SUV on West Five Notch Road coming from Georgia Avenue and observed several alleged traffic violations.
“When I made with the driver/suspect, Laquanda, I could smell a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle, her eyes were watery and bloodshot, and her speech was slow and slightly slurred,” the officer wrote.
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“I asked her how much alcohol she had consumed and she stated none. I asked her if her enger have been consuming alcohol, and she stated no. When I asked for her driver’s license registration and insurance, she handed me her driver’s license and did not look for the other documents until I requested them again. Based on my observation of physical indicators of impairment, I asked Laquanda to complete standardized field sobriety test,” the officer wrote.
Based on observations from a field sobriety test, the officer placed Carpenter, 50, in custody and took her in for a breath test.
The test ed 0.13% blood alcohol content, according to the incident report. The legal limit in South Carolina is .08%.
The anticipated charge in the incident report was listed as driving under the influence, first offense.
She’s since been charged with driving under the influence and two additional traffic violations.
She had bonded out of Aiken County jail by Thursday, according to deputies.
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During the course of the encounter, the officer wrote:
“I released her vehicle to her sister, who was the enger and sober. I asked her sister why she was not driving and she advised because she thought Laquanda was doing OK. I asked where they were coming from, and she stated a Christmas party with coworkers.”
We also spoke with Monique Braswell — a soon-to-be Richmond County Board of Education member.
She says if there’s not already one, there needs to be a policy in place to deal with situations like these.
READ THE INCIDENT REPORT:
The Richmond County School System said in a statement Thursday:
“The Richmond County School System is aware of the arrest and pending charges arising from an off-campus incident involving the principal of Cross Creek High School. The school system is actively investigating this matter. Because the investigation involves a personnel matter, the school system is unable to provide any additional information at this time. Thank you for your understanding.”
This isn’t the first time a Cross Creek employee has been arrested.
In October 2022, paraprofessional La’Marquez Benning was arrested on a grand jury warrant after being accused of having a sexual relationship with an 11th-grade student while he was employed at the school.
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