Footage shows Georgia mother urging 7-year-old daughter to steal purse at restaurant

Authorities in Georgia have arrested and charged a woman after footage that was made public showed her urging her 7-year-old daughter to steal a purse that had been left at the booth of a restaurant they had gone to.

According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the March 2 incident occurred at The Juicy Crab, a busy restaurant in Newnan, Georgia. The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Kenya Butler, and her three children were part of a group that had gone to the restaurant to dine. 

Det. Taylor Dalton of the Newnan Police Department said that Butler was identified as the “offender in this case” after the “story aired in the media.” The 27-year-old suspect has since been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and theft by taking. Her 7-year-old daughter was eventually absolved of any wrongdoing.

In the wake of the incident, police identified Butler as the woman spotted in the surveillance video. The footage shows Butler making her way to an empty booth while her daughter follows. She then tells the minor something before the 7-year-old takes the purse from the empty seating area. The minor is seen leaving the restaurant with the purse as her mother follows. 

Dalton said Butler, however, did not provide information about urging her daughter to snatch the purse, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. “While she did comment on some aspects of the case, that’s one part of it, she declined to comment on,” Dalton said.

Butler and the group she was with also racked up an over $500 bill for eating at the restaurant, but they left without paying. A man police say was supposed to pay the group’s bill was also captured on surveillance video.

Police are yet to identify that man.