A mother from Clearwater, Florida, was arrested Sunday for allegedly using one of her children to help her shoplift from a department store at Westfield Countryside Mall. The mother abandoned her teenager and her 2-year-old son when mall security caught them in the act, police said.

Mahassen Elhadary, 39, was at the JCPenney Dec. 23 with her three children — including an infant in a stroller — when she allegedly had her 14-year-old son help her shoplift. Elhadary was accused of asking her teenage son to hide items that she intended to steal. The mother of three used scissors to remove security tags from clothing items and then placed them inside a bag, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the New York Daily News.

Authorities said Elhadary's stolen goods amounted to $527.

Elhadary reportedly grabbed her youngest child from its stroller and ran upon being approached by the store's security staff, WFLA reported. She then allegedly encouraged her other children to follow behind, but they were stopped by security. Elhadary, on the other hand, managed to escape the scene.

Security officers then contacted the mother by phone, but she had hung up in response.

The boys' father, Sherif Badawy, was at another store in the mall when he responded to JCPenney's call. After Badawy picked up his children from JCPenney, he tried to reach his wife by phone. Elhadary wouldn't answer Badawy's calls, police said.

Elhadary was arrested Sunday on charges of child neglect, retail theft and the possession of an anti-shoplifting device. Records at the Pinellas County Jail indicate that she was released Monday on bond.

She denied using her son to help her shoplift the Florida JCPenney branch, according to WFTS.

A representative for Westfield Countryside Mall did not immediately return International Bussiness Times' request for comment.

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