Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
Sherita Jones
Mom Charged After Boy, 3, Dies in Fire
NORCROSS -- The mother of a toddler who died during a blaze at the family's town home while he and his brother were left alone has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident, police said Friday.
Sherita Jones, 24, was being held at the Gwinnett County jail, where she has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and two counts of contributing to the deprivation of a minor, fire spokesman Thomas Rutledge said.
Latreal Macon, 3, died Thursday after he was rushed for medical treatment to Gwinnett Medical Center. The boy's 4-year-old brother was also taken to the facility, but was no
t hurt during the fire.
The blaze broke out at the family's town home, located in the 4300 block of Re
dgate Road just off of Satellite Boulevard, shortly before noon.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation, but police said arson investigators are probing the cause of the fire.
Neighbors said they began to evacuate after the fire broke out. Three units were damaged in the fire. The unit in which the children were found was destroyed, according to a published report.
"I heard what I thought was a shooting (that sounded) like a boom," said resident Phyllis Patton. "When I opened the door, the building was already engulfed in flames."
Resident Denise Webb said she saw one of the boys in the door as the flames grew.
"He was standing in the doorway and the fire was all behind him and all around him," said Webb, who added that she helped talk one of the boys out of the building.
The boy's parents, identified by police a
s Charlie Macon, 37, and his live-in girlfriend, Jones, were apparently not at home when the fire began.
They returned to the residence as crews were extinguis
hing the blaze.
Police said they were probing the possibility that another adult who is a friend of the mother was supposed to have been caring for the children when the blaze broke out.
The 4-year-old was placed in state protective custody, police said.
It was not immediately clear why the child's father was not charged in the incident.
************
It's all good!
T.N.B.
Mom Charged After Boy, 3, Dies in Fire
NORCROSS -- The mother of a toddler who died during a blaze at the family's town home while he and his brother were left alone has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident, police said Friday.
Sherita Jones, 24, was being held at the Gwinnett County jail, where she has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and two counts of contributing to the deprivation of a minor, fire spokesman Thomas Rutledge said.
Latreal Macon, 3, died Thursday after he was rushed for medical treatment to Gwinnett Medical Center. The boy's 4-year-old brother was also taken to the facility, but was no
t hurt during the fire.
The blaze broke out at the family's town home, located in the 4300 block of Re
dgate Road just off of Satellite Boulevard, shortly before noon.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation, but police said arson investigators are probing the cause of the fire.
Neighbors said they began to evacuate after the fire broke out. Three units were damaged in the fire. The unit in which the children were found was destroyed, according to a published report.
"I heard what I thought was a shooting (that sounded) like a boom," said resident Phyllis Patton. "When I opened the door, the building was already engulfed in flames."
Resident Denise Webb said she saw one of the boys in the door as the flames grew.
"He was standing in the doorway and the fire was all behind him and all around him," said Webb, who added that she helped talk one of the boys out of the building.
The boy's parents, identified by police a
s Charlie Macon, 37, and his live-in girlfriend, Jones, were apparently not at home when the fire began.
They returned to the residence as crews were extinguis
hing the blaze.
Police said they were probing the possibility that another adult who is a friend of the mother was supposed to have been caring for the children when the blaze broke out.
The 4-year-old was placed in state protective custody, police said.
It was not immediately clear why the child's father was not charged in the incident.
************
It's all good!
T.N.B.