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Cobb County mother arrested after leaving baby at shop
Cobb County police arrested a 35-year-old mother on child abandonment and reckless conduct charges after employees said she left her 6-month-old baby girl at a Floyd Road Jiffy Lube and returned 15 minutes later holding a knife.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - A mother was arrested on child abandonment and reckless conduct charges Saturday morning after allegedly walking into a Cobb County auto service shop and abandoning her 6-month-old baby with employees.
Jiffy Lube encounter
What we know:
Assistant Manager Jarayya Mayes was beginning her shift Saturday morning at the Jiffy Lube on Floyd Road when a woman approached the service bay pushing a stroller. While Mayes had seen the woman walking along the street near the business, the two had never spoken before.
"She came up to me and my coworker, Elijah, with a stroller," Mayes said. "And she was like, hey, doesn't my baby look so cute? Is my baby so cute? We were like, yeah, babies adorable. And she was. She was absolutely adorable."
The woman asked workers to watch the infant girl, telling them she had something to do, Mayes said. She reportedly left the stroller behind, claiming paperwork was inside the bag and stating the workers could keep the child if she did not return.
"She just kept saying, The paperwork is in the bag," Mayes added. "You guys can just have her if I don't make it back. Once she said that, red flags immediately."
Mayes called 911 immediately after the woman walked away and checked on the baby, discovering the infant was wearing a soaked diaper and had rashes on her neck and body. About 15 minutes later, while Mayes remained on the phone with dispatchers, the mother allegedly returned to the shop carrying a knife and demanding the child back.
"Where's the baby? I need the baby. I gotta go, I gotta go. Some stuff just went down. I gotta go," Davis said as she returned to the shop with a knife, according to Mayes.
Emergency dispatchers instructed the workers over the phone not to let the mother leave with the baby as police officers arrived on the scene. Officers arrested 35-year-old Laraven Davis and took her to jail on charges of child abandonment and reckless conduct, while paramedics took the infant to a hospital for a medical evaluation.
Employee protective response
What they're saying:
Mayes said her maternal instincts took over the moment the stranger walked away from the business.
"As a mom, it broke me down, I did cry a lot," Mayes said. "I was just a mom looking out for another kid. I just, I couldn't let that baby go like that. That was heartbreaking."
Incident motivation and custody
What we don't know:
Police have not disclosed what prompted the mother's actions or where the child will be placed following medical clearance from the hospital.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from interviews with Jiffy Lube Assistant Manager Jarayya Mayes and police arrest records in Cobb County, as reported by FOX 5 reporter Denise Dillon.