Mentally ill patron tries to take infant boy from family at restaurant, claiming baby belonged to her amid meltdown: Cops

Police in Oregon arrested a woman Saturday night after she allegedly attempted to steal an 8-month-old baby boy from his family as they ate at a restaurant.

Per KATU, Oregon City officers responded to Shari’s at 8 p.m. and made contact with Pauline Gaines, 50. The incident reportedly involved Gaines and the infant son of one of the waitresses working there on the night in question.

Ashley Richmond said she was pulling a shift when her mother, Loretta, decided to make a surprise visit with her son. The waitress told the news station that she witnessed Gaines approach her mother attempt to hold the baby, causing a tense, chaotic scene.

“I’ve never seen her in my whole life. I had no idea who it was,” Ashley Richmond recalled. “This lady is just like ‘you’re the one that killed my son, you killed my son.’ She’s all like ‘that’s my baby, give me her’ and kept on calling it a ‘her,’ which it’s a boy.”

Police believe Gaines was suffering from a mental health crisis and believed the infant belonged to her, according to KPTV. The pair reportedly managed to keep Gaines away from the baby until police arrived and arrested her at the scene.

The infant’s grandmother told KATU that they hid in the car as they waited for help, recalling how Gaines threatened to taze her daughter.

The baby was unharmed in Saturday’s incident. Police commended the pair for doing “an excellent job keeping Ms. Gaines from the infant,” according to the news station.

Meanwhile, Gaines—who police said has a lengthy criminal history—is facing an attempted kidnapping charge. It’s unclear whether she remains jailed.

[Featured Image: Pauline Gaines/Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office]