Newton Citizen

COVINGTON -- A 19-year-old Covington woman is in jail after she left her 3-year-old daughter and her 5-month-old infant alone so she could go to the store to buy a pack of Black & Mild cigars with a man she described as "a random black guy," according to the Covington Police Department

Tommisha L. Ball of 10317 Magnolia Heights, Apt. 317, faces two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and is being held in the Newton County Detention Center without bail.

CPD became involved when a passerby found the 3-year-old crawling under a gate at the apartment complex around 11:30 p.m. She made contact with the child and asked her where she was going. The child replied, "To my grandmother's house."

The apartment complex security officer was contacted and after police arrived, they saw a woman with a flashlight who was later identified as Ball.

"Ms. Ball was visually and verbally upset that her daughter was out of the house and that she didn't know where she was," the report states.

Ball admitted to police that the 3-year-old knew how to unlock both the front and balcony doors at the apartment.

When police began questioning Ball, it was discovered that her infant son was also alone in the apartment asleep.

Ball first told police that she fed her children and put the infant in his bed to go to sleep and put a movie in for her daughter to watch. She said she then took a "bubble bath" and that must have been when the child escaped. When officers began to question her about her explanation, she changed her story to "she had only taken a bath, no bubbles."

Officers continued to challenge her because the tub in her apartment was dry and they had discovered a black plastic bag containing a bottle of vodka and a Black & Mild cigar beside Ball's bed. She said she had gotten the vodka from her mom.

As officers continued questioning her, Ball changed her story and said after she got her infant to sleep and the toddler watching a movie, she wanted to go to the store for a pack of Black & Mild cigars. She said she left the apartment at approximately 11:10 p.m. and went downstairs where she saw "a random black guy," to whom she offered $15 to take her to the store. She said they first went to an ATM at a gas station to get $20 so she could pay him and purchase the cigars for $4.94. She then wanted a Sprite and they had to go to a second gas station and she had to borrow a dollar from "the random black guy" to pay for it. She said she then went home and found her daughter missing.

Ball's children were turned over to their grandmother and Ball was taken to jail. The Newton County Department of Family and Children's Services was informed of the situation.