Pahrump school principal suspended after arrest

A recently hired Pahrump elementary school principal and ex-pro football player, has been suspended from work following a domestic-battery arrest, the Pahrump Valley Times reports.

Nye County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in Pahrump on Dec. 30 where deputies said Von Eric Sheppard had become agitated and grabbed his fiance by her arm.

The woman told deputies Sheppard had also thrown and shoved papers at her and lunged at two days prior.

Sheppard was arrested and booked into the Nye County Detention Center, where he remained Wednesday on a parole and probation hold out of Jefferson County, Colorado.

Colorado court records show he pleaded guilty to DUI charges in 2011 and 2013.

Before becoming a principal in Pahrump in August, Sheppard had been the assistant superintendent for a Colorado school district and the principal of a Minnesota high school.

During an interview before the arrest, Sheppard said he his peers credited him with helping turn around a school that had been plagued by drugs, violence and teacher turnover.

Prior to his time in the education field, Sheppard had a short-lived stint with the Minnesota Vikings and spent a couple of seasons playing football on overseas teams. He also played for the University of Nebraska.