Lebanon — Police over the weekend arrested the associate principal of Mascoma Valley Regional High School on a shoplifting charge, but her attorney says the incident was a misunderstanding.

JoAnne Ladd, 44, allegedly placed books and pens into her shoulder bag on Saturday inside the West Lebanon Wal-Mart and left the store without paying for them, according to the Lebanon Police Department’s call log.

A Wal-Mart employee confronted Ladd outside of the store and called police, who took her into custody and processed her on a misdemeanor count of theft by unauthorized taking.

She was released on $500 personal recognizance bail. She is due to be arraigned in Lebanon District Court on June 27.

Ladd’s attorney, Peter Decato, said in a Wednesday telephone interview that Ladd placed items in her “large tote bag” while she waited for the production of a photo book to be completed in Wal-Mart’s photography department.

When the process finished and she paid for the book in that department, Decato said, Ladd forgot about the items she had put into her bag and left Wal-Mart.

He said the items were not for Ladd, but rather for a school project. Decato also said Ladd waited for the book for about an hour.

Decato later issued a news release on Wednesday, saying reports of Ladd’s arrest have been swirling on Facebook and other social media websites.

He said the people who have posted on her arrest have jumped to an unfair conclusion.

“If every person is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty, we should treat them as such,” Decato said in the release. “If students and/or their parents want to write about JoAnne’s arrest, I would ask them to add to their postings information about our Constitution. I would also ask them to be patient before finding JoAnne guilty of this offense. The trial always comes before the verdict.”

Ladd, a White River Junction resident, is the associate principal of Mascoma High School, a position equivalent to an assistant principal, Mascoma Valley Regional School District Business Administrator Debra Ford said.

On Thursday, Ford said Ladd’s employment status has not changed since the arrest.

According to Ladd’s LinkedIn profile, she has held her position at Mascoma since 2010. Prior to taking the job, she was an administrator in the Windsor school system.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.