Mother gets week for wandering son

A mother who let her 23-month-old son wander away from home while she was allegedly out getting high will avoid a felony sentence, instead ordered to serve a week in jail for child neglect.

The defendant, Angela M. Fisher, 23, entered a guilty plea Tuesday before General Sessions Judge Larry Ross to charges of child neglect and simple possession of marijuana. She will also be required to pay $250 plus costs and perform 16 hours public service work.

Fisher was originally charged with aggravated child abuse, a crime which carries 15 to 25 years in prison, for her son?s wandering away from their Muncey Street home in June. The much more severe charges were originally launched because the child suffers medical problems and therefore his wandering posed an even higher risk to his safety.

Police were called when the child was found wandering in the street in front of a house on Hardaway Street just before 6 a.m. Police say the child was ?cold and scared? when he was found, noting they are unsure how long he had been wandering the streets before he was seen.

Police were able to find where the child lived on West Muncey Street by going door to door until they located his home.

It was during their visit to the child?s house they found a quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, all of which was claimed by the child?s mother, who also admitted she had used marijuana and alcohol earlier in the evening.

During questioning, Mrs. Fisher admitted to leaving the family home after her husband fell asleep sometime after midnight. Her husband said he fell asleep believing his wife would be tending the children, noting he awoke in the morning to find both wife and child missing.

Mrs. Fisher told police she went to a neighbor?s house and had checked back at her home at various times during the night, not knowing the child had wandered off.