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ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — Six months after an Albany Middle School student was hospitalized following an incident involving alleged THC gummies, several student witnesses were subpoenaed to juvenile court Wednesday as the case moved forward.

One mother tells WALB she had no idea her daughter would become involved in a court case until a deputy showed up at her home with a subpoena less than two weeks before the hearing.

“When the situation happened with the gummies back in April, the school didn’t contact me,” the mother said. “The principal or teacher or administrator, nobody contacted me.”

WALB is not identifying the mother because doing so could identify her daughter, who is a minor and was subpoenaed as a witness in juvenile court.

Student witnesses subpoenaed months after Albany Middle incident

WALB first reported in April that an Albany Middle School student was found unresponsive inside a school bathroom and taken to the hospital.

At the time, parents alleged gummies containing THC were being distributed on campus. The Dougherty County School System said it could not confirm those allegations and said the incident was under investigation. A prosecutor in the Dougherty County Court confirmed it was THC.

The mother who spoke with WALB Wednesday says her daughter was among the students who encountered the unresponsive student. She says her daughter was later required to write a statement about what she witnessed.

“She did have to write a statement. That’s the reason why we had to go to court this morning,” the mother said. “But I was not aware of a statement that was written by my daughter until she told me.”

She says no one from the school contacted her about the statement.

“Everything came from my daughter,” she said.

The mother says she believed the matter was over until a law enforcement officer arrived at her home on Friday, Oct 2nd, with a subpoena requiring her daughter to appear in court.

Juvenile case resolved without student witnesses testifying

Several students appeared at juvenile court Wednesday after being subpoenaed as witnesses.

The case was resolved before those students were called to testify, and the witnesses were allowed to leave the courtroom. The juvenile also admitted to criminal trespass and violating probation.

According to facts presented in court, the juvenile had previously been suspended from Albany Middle School but returned to campus in April.

The juvenile told the judge a teacher had asked them to return to school to pick up a packet.

Albany Middle School’s assistant principal disputed that account during testimony, telling the court suspended students are not permitted inside the school and that assignments are available electronically.

The judge imposed a fine, probation, after-school tutoring, and also warned the juvenile that time could be served if there is another violation.

WALB is not identifying the juvenile because the case was handled in juvenile court.

Mother says subpoena left family “in the blind”

Although her daughter ultimately did not have to testify, the mother says the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s hearing were stressful because neither she nor her daughter knew what to expect.

“I was left in the blind. I’m clueless,” she said. “I’m like, what reason would she have to go to court? Would she have to testify? Like, I was clueless. I didn’t know what to expect. Even she didn’t know what to expect.”

The mother says she was relieved when she learned her daughter would not have to take the stand.

“I was more relieved for the sake of my daughter because she was a little nervous about getting on the stand, answering questions that they may have asked of her,” she said.

But she says the experience has left her questioning how the school communicates with parents when their children become witnesses to incidents on campus.

“All of the communication came from my daughter,” she said. “Even if you can’t pick up the phone right at the moment to reach out to me or any adult, have some kind of communication where you can send a text message until you’re able to reach out to that parent.”

The mother says she wants the school district to improve communication with families, particularly when minors are involved in investigations.

WALB has asked the Dougherty County School System what its policy is for notifying parents when a student is asked to provide a witness statement concerning an incident at school, who is responsible for that notification, and whether the process differs when law enforcement is involved. We are waiting on a response.

WALB also reached out to the juvenile’s attorney for a statement.

This is a developing story. WALB will update this story as more information becomes available.

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