Howard High Assistant Principal Sentenced for Credit Card Thefts

A Howard County high school assistant principal will spend 90 days in prison for stealing colleagues’ credit cards, according to a spokesman for the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Patricia Kelly Murray, 40, of Severna Park, to stealing credit cards from a vice principal at and a principal at Laurel Woods.

Prosecutors said Murray, who is listed by the school system as an assistant principal at , made eight purchases worth nearly $1,800 on Dec. 15, 2011, using the vice principal’s card. In another instance, Murray used a credit card from the principal to “obtain gifts for her family.”

Judge Dennis Sweeney Thursday sentenced Murray to five years in prison, suspending all but 90 days. According to Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office spokesman Wayne Kirwan, Murray will spend the 90 days at the Howard County Detention Center, followed by three years of supervised probation. 

Murray is also ordered to pay restitution to the credit card companies and pay all court costs and have no contact with the victims, according to Kirwan.

The school system plans to "move ahead with terminating Murray" from her position as assistant principal at Howard High School, according to the Howard County Times. The newspaper reported she had been in the position since 2011 and on unpaid administrative leave since April 30.

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