Chandler principal named in 'Goon'-related lawsuits is moved to special ed department
The Chandler Unified School District has reassigned Jamie Lander, a former principal who has been named in three civil legal filings related to the "Gilbert Goons," to its special education department.
Lander, who was formerly the principal of Riggs Elementary School, had been on leave since at least February. On April 4, the district began searching for a new Riggs Elementary principal to replace her.
Lander has been reassigned to the district's student services department, which oversees special education services, according to district spokesperson Stephanie Ingersoll.
The reassignment was not disciplinary in nature, Ingersoll said, but was prompted by the fact that the "distractions at Riggs Elementary disrupted the learning environment" and interfered with the district's "priority to educate students." The district's student services department needs extra support, Ingersoll said, and Lander is "highly qualified in the area of special education."
An investigation by The Arizona Republic published in December detailed a string of vicious assaults by the Gilbert Goons that had gone unchecked since at least 2022. The Republic also outlined the group's potential ties to the fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord at a Halloween party in Queen Creek.
What is Jamie Lander's connection to Goons case?
Lander, her husband and her stepson were named in a lawsuit filed in February by Richard Kuehner against over a dozen young people identified as Goons and their parents. Kuehner's teenage son was attacked in August in the parking lot of a Gilbert In-N-Out Burger. The suit accused the Goons of assaulting unsuspecting victims, recording attacks and sharing photos and videos of them on social media. It accused parents of negligent supervision.
Lander's stepson had been arrested by Gilbert police on suspicion of assault and robbery in connection with the attack on Kuehner's son, but the case against him was dropped by prosecutors weeks later.
Lander, her husband and her stepson were also named in a lawsuit targeting Goons for their reported involvement in a May 2023 attack on a 17-year-old in a Mesa park. The suit claimed Lander's stepson "set up" the attack and threatened another.
A $6 million notice of claim sent in February stemming from the attack on Kuehner's son names Lander, too. The claim states Chandler Unified officials were warned Kuehner's son, a Perry High School student, had received death threats before being "jumped" by Goons, including Lander's stepson, and made no effort to stop it.
Lander lacked decision-making authority at Perry High School, according to the notice of claim. But it noted that Kuehner's son was forced to withdraw from the school as a direct result of her stepson's conduct. Kuehner's lawyer, Richard Lyons, referred to Lander as an agent and employee of the district, which is liable for her conduct.
During a police interview in December, Lander said her stepson was being made a "scapegoat" in the August attack, and when a detective asked her stepson to identify others involved in the attack, Lander raised objections, according to police records of the interview obtained by The Arizona Republic. She didn't want her stepson "put in 'harm's way' by naming names," the detective said.
Lander suggested the kids in the attack videos were being "lumped together" with the kids who were involved in Lord's murder, according to police records. She also said there were some accusations about Kuehner's son that could explain why he was targeted in the attack, and that she and her colleagues in the district were receiving calls about his son's behavior and that Kuehner wasn't being held responsible for his son's action, the detective wrote.
Contributing: Republic reporters Elena Santa Cruz and Robert Anglen.
Reach the reporter at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ex-Principal Jamie Lander named in 'Goon'-related lawsuits reassigned
