Wood explains standard process being followed
District Attorney Frank Wood said Friday his office is aware of the warrant against Brittany Campbell Patterson, 41, of 530 Marble City Road, Mineral Bluff, and is “actively reviewing” the case to determine the next step in the judicial process.
This is the same review as with all warrants, he explained. Wood said he expects to have an announcement in the near future but, “at this juncture, at this moment, I have an ethical obligation not to discuss an ongoing investigation,” he added.
Wood was referring to the Misdemeanor, Disorderly Conduct charge taken against Patterson by Fannin County Deputy Sheriff Kaylee Robertson.
That warrant alleges “a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise in the same situation.”
The arrest has grabbed the attention of various forms of media nationwide.
Responding to a complaint by a citizen, Robertson found Patterson’s son, Soren, walking along Railroad Avenue in Mineral Bluff.
He had first walked from the family home on Marble City Road then along State Route 60 to the Dollar General store.
According to Robertson’s incident report narrative, and backed by body cam video, Soren did not know his mother’s phone number when asked. When asked where he lived, he motioned down Highway Spur 60, in the opposite direction from Mineral Bluff. Neither could he remember the last time he ate.
When Robertson contacted Patterson by phone, the deputy wrote she “seemed very unsurprised or concerned.”
Patterson said the child was supposed to go with her to an appointment in Ellijay, Georgia, but she “couldn’t find him anywhere,” so she left. She described the now 11-year-old boy as “very defiant” and said he would not listen to her, so law enforcement would “be dealing with him at some point.”
Patterson said she had left her house at 12:15 p.m. for Ellijay and did not expect to return until 9:15 p.m. that night.
Patterson is quoted in media outlets as saying, “I figured he was in the woods or at grandma’s house...I was not panicking as I know the roads and know he is mature enough to walk there without incident.”
Deputies returned that night to arrest Patterson, who media outlets picture as being handcuffed with her kids watching.
However, body cam video shows Patterson being asked to come outside and then handcuffed. She then calls for her children, one-by-one, to come outside and tell her goodbye.
Patterson feels none of this makes sense, having grown up in the area and been allowed to wander and play unsupervised. “The mentality here is more free-range,” she said, describing the area.
Patterson was released almost immediately after being booked at the Fannin County Jail under a $500 bond.
She was later visited by a case manager from the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) and was later presented a “safety plan” to sign, Patterson says.
That plan would compel Patterson to download an app onto her son’s phone allowing his location to be monitored. It would also require her to designate a “safety person (to be a) knowing participant and guardian” and watch over the children whenever she leaves home she said. Patterson’s husband works out of town in Montana.
She refused to do so, instead contacting David DeLugas of ParentsUSA, a nonprofit that is described as providing pro bono legal help to parents wrongly arrested and prosecuted for child neglect. A GoFundMe was established to help ParentsUSA cover Patterson’s legal expenses. As of Friday morning, that effort had raised over $42,000.
DeLugas was reported to have called an assistant district attorney and was told if Patterson would sign the safety plan, the charges would be dropped.
The matter was not settled as of Friday afternoon, November 15.