A Covington woman was arrested on Monday after she reportedly left her children unattended.

Covington police arrested Tommisha Ball shortly after they found her looking for her 3-year-old daughter in the Magnolia Heights apartment complex.

An officer responded to an apartment home at Magnolia Heights Circle in reference to a juvenile problem around 11 p.m. The officer spoke to a courtesy officer and a woman who lived at the complex who were both with Ball's daughter.

The courtesy officer told the Covington police officer that the woman brought the young girl to his apartment and said she found the toddler crawling under the gate as she was entering the apartment complex.

The woman got out of her vehicle and asked the toddler where she was going and the toddler said she was going to her grandmother's house. The woman had the toddler get into her vehicle and she took the child to the courtesy officer's apartment and called police.
While the Covington police officer was speaking with the courtesy officer and the woman, they observed Ball and an unidentified female walking toward them with a flash light.

As they were walking toward them, the woman with Ball asked her if that was her baby and Ball said she did not know. Ball called out to the toddler and the woman holding the toddler asked the girl if that was her mother and the girl nodded yes and reached out to her mother.

The police officer reported that Ball was "visually and verbally upset" with her daughter after she found out she was not at home.

The police officer confirmed that the child was Ball's daughter and asked her for identification. Ball did not have an ID on her at the time, so he obtained her date of birth. He asked her if anyone else was at her home and Ball told the officer that her 5-month-old son was at the apartment.

The officer had Ball take him to her apartment. When they arrived, he again asked her for identification and she gave it to him. He then asked her what happened.

Ball said she put her son to bed and put on a movie for her daughter to watch while she was taking a bubble bath. She said she locked the doors and her daughter must have unlocked and opened the front door and walked outside.

Two other officers arrived to the apartment and searched the home. An officer looked in Ball's bathroom and discovered that Ball's bathtub did not have bubbles in it and it was dry.

The officer asked Ball if she was telling the truth about the bubble bath and she said wasn't lying but she had taken a bath with no bubbles.

She told the officer that she got out of the bathtub and discovered her daughter was missing and began to look for her. She said while she was looking for her daughter in the complex, a woman offered to help her find her daughter.

During the search, police found a black plastic bag containing a bottle of vodka and a Black & Mild brand cigars beside her bed. Police questioned Ball about the items and she told police she received the items from someone earlier and she did not buy them.

After further questioning Ball, she admitted to police that she was scared and she knew she was in trouble for leaving her children alone. She then told officers that she cooked dinner for her children and she put her son to bed. She said her daughter was not ready to go to sleep, so she put on a movie for her. Ball said she wanted to go to the store for a pack of Black & Mild cigars.

Ball reportedly left the apartment and asked an unknown guy to take her to the store for $15. The man drove her to the Marathon gas station on Ga. Highway 36, where she reportedly withdrew $20 to pay for the cigars and pay the man. The police officer asked her if she had gone anywhere else and she told police no.

After further investigation, police found that Ball also went to the Shell gas station to purchase a Sprite. She told police she received money from the man who gave her a ride to buy the soda.

Ball was charged her with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and taken to the Newton County Jail. Police notified the Department of Family and Children Services about the case. The two children were released to a family member.