ASHEVILLE, NC (FOX Carolina) -
Officers said they arrested an Asheville mother Tuesday after she stole a tip jar from a local restaurant while her young children were left at home alone.
Asheville police said they responded to Avenue M Restaurant and Bar at 10:11 p.m. on Merrimon Avenue after a woman stole a tip jar and ran away.
Officers said they searched the area and found 30-year-old Fahria Shields hiding in a shed at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church with $41 from the tip jar on her. According to the incident report, Shields was going to use the money to buy drugs.
Shields mother, Erin Chase told Fox Carolina's Greg Funderburg in an exclusive interview, "My daughter has been dealing with the death of her younger sister nearly 5 weeks ago," she said. "I am just shocked and distressed that this all happened," said Chase.
After arresting Shields, police said she told them she had to go home because her children were there in the care of her boyfriend.
While she was taken to jail, officers went to Shields' apartment for a welfare check where they said they found a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old asleep and unattended in a bedroom. The Department of Social Services was called and the children were placed with their grandmother, Erin Chase.
Police said Shields was charged with child abuse, intoxicated and disruptive, and larceny. She was being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility on a $1,000 secure bond.
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Fahria Shields (Asheville Police Dept.)
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