WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Shoplifter leaves baby behind

Shoplifter leaves baby behind

 By Christy Hutchings - bio | email

GARDEN CITY, GA (WTOC) - It's not the craziness you'd expect at the store the night before Thanksgiving. Instead, a fight at the checkout. But the worst part, a baby caught in the middle of what police say is a shoplifting scheme.

It all happened at Garden City's Piggly Wiggly.  A store manager thought he saw someone shoplifting, possibly for the second time this week.

Police say the man was trying to leave the store with beer he didn't pay for, tucked under the baby in a stroller. The manager stopped him, and that's when the trouble started. "The suspect picked the baby up, made some comment like ‘I'm not going to steal, you can have it' and the manager said, ‘No we're calling police.'" That's when the struggle started," said Garden City police Sgt. Brian Childs.

With the accused shoplifter still holding the baby, the men started fighting. A second manager walked up and grabbed the baby to get it out of harm's way and break up the fight.

While all of this was going on, an off- duty, but in uniform, Savannah Chatham Police Lieutenant heard the commotion and chased the shoplifter as he ran out of the store, leaving the baby behind.

Becky Donovan was shopping with her children. She could only think of one thing. "The baby, I didn't want the baby to be hurt. I didn't know what was going on," said Donovan.

Donovan held the baby, waiting for the mother to arrive.

The metro officer came back in the store, and a second man, Jeremy Peters, confronted him. The Lieutenant says Peters told him he knew the baby's mother and could call her.  When the Lieutenant started questioning Peters more, police say Peters pushed the Lieutenant several times. Peters was arrested.  Police also found marijuana on him.  He's being charged with possession, obstruction, and being involved in the shoplifting that started it all.

Police are still looking for the other man,  Arthur Sanders.  Sanders could face shoplifting charges, as well as assault charges, for punching the store manager.

Garden City police checked out the baby twice to make sure that the child was not harmed. The baby was sent home with the mother, but police are still questioning her involvement.

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