Tonya Mannion was charged with causing a child to become a delinquent, unarmed burglary, criminal mischief and petit theft, according to a report

NEED TO KNOW

• A grandmother in Florida has been arrested after allegedly stealing a Halloween decoration from a front porch and is now facing burglary, theft and child delinquency charges
• Tonya Mannion, 53, was driving her three grandchildren around South Lakeland to see Halloween decorations when one of them spotted an inflatable ghost they wanted, police alleged
• Surveillance footage reportedly showed a woman unplugging the $15 ghost and carrying it to her car

Police arrested a 53-year-old grandmother after she allegedly stole an inflatable Halloween ghost from a neighbor’s front porch in Florida.

Tonya Mannion was looking after her three grandchildren when she took them for a ride in her hometown of South Lakeland to look at Halloween decorations and allegedly stole an inflatable Halloween ghost she spotted on a front porch, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a Facebook video.

The incident took place on Oct. 17, WKRC reported.

“She’s got two 8-year-olds and the 9-year-old that she’s babysitting for her daughter. And at some point in time … she decides to take them for a ride to look at Halloween decorations … around South Lakeland,” Judd said “… One of the children says, ‘Look at that ghost … it’s awesome.’ So [Mannion] says, ‘Do you want it?’ And they go, ‘Sure.’ ”

“So she stops the car and she walks onto the front porch, unplugs the inflatable ghost and takes it. She ripped off the ghost and put it in the car and drove off,” he alleged.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Neighbors’ surveillance footage allegedly caught a woman believed to be Mannion walking up to the front porch, unplugging the inflatable Halloween ghost, and carrying it back to her car, parked at the front of the house.

Judd said that police came to the scene, found Mannion and stopped her with the ghost allegedly in her possession. “She got the ghost and then she gave up the ghost and then we took her to jail,” Judd added.

Mannion allegedly told police after her arrest that she took the ghost because her grandchildren wanted it, per WKRC. The ghost reportedly cost $15, according to Ground News.

Mannion was charged with causing a child to become a delinquent, unarmed burglary, criminal mischief and petit theft, per WKRC. She also returned the ghost, according to the outlet.

She was released from jail two days after her arrest on an $8,750 bond, pending trial in Polk County Circuit Court, per Fox 10 Phoenix and Lakeland Gazette.

“What kind of example is that for the grandchildren?” Judd said. “…So trick or treat, Grandma. We recovered the ghost and you got the trick.”

PEOPLE has reached out to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.

Source link