Charges were reduced Tuesday against an Atlanta woman arrested Saturday after police said she abandoned her 3-year-old daughter at a bus stop on Bouldercrest Drive.

Rochelle Payton, 41, was facing a cruelty to children charge after a witness said she left the child at the stop and ran away, Channel 2 Action News reported.  Police said Payton returned to the scene but fled again when she was approached by an officer. The officer later found her at her home.  No reason was given for why she fled or left the child behind.

The child, who was unharmed, was released to the state Division of Family and Children Services.

A DeKalb County judge reduced the charge to reckless conduct. He set Payton's bond at $500, according to Channel 2.

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo