FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. --
A Forsyth County mother said she is outraged that police left her 10-year-old son alone on a road while she was taken to jail.
She said she was arrested for stealing items she thought were abandoned.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton told Channel 2 Action News reporter Eric Philips that after becoming aware of the situation, he does have some serious concerns about how the arrest was handled. Paxton said the incident was being investigated internally to determine if any disciplinary action should be taken.
Christy Samples and her 10-year-old son, Jonathon, spoke with Philips about what happened after she was arrested in July.
Samples said the incident began when she took some items from the overgrown yard of a home on Driver Lane in Forsyth County that she thought was abandoned.
"And there was a garbage can sitting right there and it had some paint cans in it that was already opened and some Off spray," said Samples.
She also picked up a toy car for her daughter.
Within minutes of getting the items home, she said sheriff's deputies were at her door.
"I was honest with them and said, ‘Yeah, I took these few things that were on the lawn and I'll be glad to take them back.' And they asked my son, ‘Would you mind grabbing the other end of this garbage can to take it back where your mother took it from.' And, of course, my son said yes," said Samples.
Once they got the items back to the property, which was about a half a mile away, authorities arrested her for theft by taking.
"They put the handcuffs on her and put her in the car. I just stood there and then they left," said Jonathon Samples.
"The police officer didn't ask him if he needed help getting home. He didn't ask if his father was going to come. They just left my son here unattended with no adult. He's 10 years old," said Samples.
Jonathon's father went looking for him after he didn't return home. He found his son sitting on the side of the road where authorities arrested his mother an hour earlier.
"I was scared, but when he got here, I knew that I was safe," said Jonathon Samples.
"They didn't care enough to bring him home," said Samples.
One of the reasons the Samples family were so upset is because the area where they said their son was left is the same area where 11-year-old Levi Frady was abducted years ago -- prompting Georgia's Levy's Call.
The sheriff said he wishes the Samples had filed a complaint directly with the sheriff's office right away.
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