A drive to see Halloween decorations in south Lakeland led to a grandmother's arrest after she allegedly took an inflatable ghost from a home's front porch with her grandchildren along for the outing, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Authorities said the decoration was later returned after deputies located her.
Judd identified the woman as Tonya Mannion, 53, and said she had been babysitting her daughter's three children. Two of the children were 8 years old, and the third was 9. While looking after them, Mannion decided to take the group for a ride around south Lakeland to view the holiday displays, the sheriff said.
During that drive, one of the children noticed an inflated ghost outside a house and expressed excitement about it, according to Judd's account. The sheriff said Mannion asked the child whether they wanted the decoration, and the child answered yes. That exchange preceded the alleged theft from the home's porch.
The sheriff said a home surveillance recording captured Mannion stopping her vehicle and approaching the front porch. According to his description of the footage, she unplugged the inflatable ghost. Authorities allege she then took the decoration, placed it inside her vehicle and drove away. The surveillance footage was among the evidence Judd described in outlining the investigation.
Judd criticized the alleged conduct in front of the children as he discussed the case. "What kind of example is that for the grandchildren?" he said. His account placed all three grandchildren on the outing during which Mannion allegedly stopped to take the ghost they had seen outside the home.
Deputies subsequently tracked down Mannion, and she returned the inflatable decoration, Judd said. She was taken to jail. The sheriff's account described both the recovery of the property and the arrest that followed the investigation into its removal from the porch.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Mannion was arrested on three counts of causing a child to become delinquent, dependent or needy. She also faces charges of unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure, petit theft and criminal mischief involving less than $200 in property damage. The allegations, description of the surveillance evidence and details of the ghost's recovery were provided by Judd and the sheriff's office.
