Athens, TN Teacher Of The Year Busted For Burglary, Drug Possession And Trespassing

Image Credit: Athens City Schools / Twitter

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Daelyn Waldroup, named Athens City Schools Pre-K through 4th Grade Teacher of the Year for 2021-22, was busted by police on June 6th and is now facing charges of burglary, drug possession and trespassing.

According to Athens police, Waldroup jumped a fence to get access to a car that was being held in an impound lot.  

Through an affidavit obtained by WTVC, it was found that this occurred on June 6th during the morning and that the police were called to the scene at J Pro Car & Towing located on Decatur Pike.

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According to the report, an Athens police officer found Waldroup sitting in a vehicle that was still located in the fenced-in, impound area of the lot.

Waldroup reportedly told the police officer that she was getting paperwork to get the car registered so she could pick it up and that an employee at the business had told her she could go into the lot to do so.

However, the employee told the officer that no such permission had been granted and that she had been previously advised to not enter the fenced impound area.

The car Waldroup was found in is registered to a Cleveland, Tennessee man, who authorities have been working to contact.

The officer told Waldroup to come out from behind the fence and go to the vehicle she used to drive there in order to retrieve her identification information.

According to the officer, when Waldroup’s vehicle door was opened, a strong scent of marijuana was detected.

Waldroup stated that she didn’t have any marijuana in the vehicle and gave consent when the officer asked to search the vehicle.  

According to the affidavit, with another officer now present at the scene, a small of marijuana, two pipes containing marijuana residue, two grinders with marijuana residue and a scraper were found, along with a large container that held most of the paraphernalia.

Waldroup was subsequently arrested and booked with auto burglary violation, criminal trespassing, and possession of marijuna and drug paraphernalia.

At the January board meeting of Athens City Schools, Waldroup was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award for PreK – 4th Grade for her work at North City Elementary.

Athens Director of Schools, Robert Greene, told WTVC that the School System is aware of the case against Waldroup, but have chosen to wait to see what the court decides before they address her employment status at North City Elementary.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com