Former local teachers arrested for alleged theft from RRV Fair Association

On Sept. 1, 2022, Steven and Susan Nash Tucker were arrested and booked into the Lamar County Jail on the alleged charge of Theft of Property, $2,500 to $30k from the Red River Valley Fair Association. Steven Tucker served as Executive Director of the association and appointed his wife as Executive Assistant.

According to the indictment, in July of this year, a Lamar County grand jury of the Sixth Judicial District for the county found that on or about September of 2021 did then and there unlawfully appropriate by acquiring or otherwise exercising control over property, namely United States currency or its equivalent, of the value of $2,500 or more but less than $30k from the Red River Valley Fair Association without the effective consent of the owner and with intent to deprive the owner of the property.

Both of the Tuckers have a long career in education. Steven Tucker was a teacher with Paris Independent School District from 1995 until Aug. 9, 2021, when he resigned to take a position with the Windham School District. The Windham School District is a non-geographical school district that provides educational services to inmates in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville.

Susan Tucker worked for PISD for more than 15 years in Special Services grades one through six. She left the district on May 27, 2020.

eExtraNews reached out to District Attorney Gary Young for comment. Young stated, “I cannot comment on a pending case except to say they were arrested on theft charges and have made bond.”

The Fair Board made the following statement:

“Rita Haynes passed away and Steve was named Executive Director and he appointed his wife Executive Assistant. Shortly after the fair last year, the board formed a finance committee and there were discrepancies discovered. Steve was asked multiple times about the discrepancies, but never responded, so the Tuckers were dismissed in December of 2021 or early January of 2022. We looked further into the finances and discovered charges were made that were unrelated to fair business. We turned the evidence over to the Paris Police Department. We were just recently notified that it was turned over to the grand jury and an indictment was made. Yesterday, they were arrested.”

eExtraNews also reached out to the Tuckers but received no comment.

The RRV Fair Association is a 501 C-3 non-profit organization and has served the county for over 105 years. It hosts a multi-day county fair each year, facility rentals and various community and youth programs. All revenue generated is reinvested back into its programs and improvements.

This is an ongoing story. Check back for updates.