Thursday, July 11, 2019

News 12 at 6 o'clock/NBC at 7

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- A mother is no longer being charged with disorderly conduct after a

back in April.

Charges were dropped Thursday against Brooke Johns, who was almost 9 months pregnant at the time she got the ticket.

Case dismissed against mom charged in potty-training emergency POTTY-TRAINING EMERGENCY CASE DISMISSED: The Beech Island mom who was ticketed for disorderly conduct after her son peed in a parking lot was ready to plead her case this morning. Instead, here's what the State had to say. ONLY ON 12: Hear from the mom tonight at 6 o'clock. Posted by Meredith Anderson WRDW on Thursday, July 11, 2019

Brooke was driving down Sandbar Ferry Road when the little voice in the backseat said he had a big problem.

“He's like, 'Mom, I've got to pee. I've got to pee!' I was like, 'Well, hold on,' and he's like, 'No! I've GOT to pee! I've got to REALLY pee.' And I'm like, 'Baby, there's nowhere for me to go, and he says, 'Momma, I'm about to pee in my pants!" Brooke said.

Brooke said they barely made it to a gas station parking lot before she realized they wouldn’t be able to make it inside.

Brooke was very pregnant at the time, so she couldn't pick her son Cohen up to take him inside, so she tried to cover her son up as best as she could as he relieved himself right there in the parking lot.

A Richmond County deputy saw it all happen. Brooke was charged with disorderly conduct.

, but the issue wasn't resolved then.

"The state believes in this situation, the right thing was done by mom," said Ben Allen.

It's a complete about-face from the last time Brooke Johns faced the judge from this very same spot.

The whole thing was over what happened at a gas station on Laney Walker Boulevard. 3-year-old Cohen couldn't hold it anymore and a Richmond County Deputy said the emergency pee-pee was a big no-no.

The state seemed on his side until today.

"Mom was trying to be a good mom. Child had an emergency that had come up, and mom took care of the emergency. That's what we expect of all good moms," said Allen.

But what about good deputies? The one who wrote the ticket wasn't in court today but he was mentioned.

"Sometimes things come up and you have to deal with it," said Allen.

"And perhaps she was not as ready to respond to the officer and was somewhat short with him when she could have been more patient, but she was in a bad situation," said the judge.

"She was in a bad situation," said Allen.

"'Cause the officer was doing his job," said the judge.

"He was doing his job. That's correct, your honor. This is casting no dispersion on, uh the officer," said Allen.

The officer is not in trouble and the mom is not in trouble. The whole thing is gone.

“The support from the community was amazing. I could not be more thankful," said Brooke Johns.

"Because what mom hasn't been there," said her lawyer.

"It took a huge toll on me. I'm glad it's over with. I can (exhales) I can breathe, I can breathe," said Johns.

CASE DISMISSED. This morning, the State admitted a pregnant mom did what any good mom would do in a potty training... Posted by Meredith Anderson WRDW on Thursday, July 11, 2019