HAYDEN - In October, a 12-year-old boy spent four days in custody in Kootenai County for stealing a 72 cent doughnut, according to court records.

The boy stole the doughnut on the afternoon of Oct. 10 from the Super 1 Foods store in Hayden on Hayden Avenue, casually snacking on the treat as he strolled for the exit.

The boy's mother, fearing he wasn't taking his recent shoplifting seriously, asked authorities to send him to jail - just to scare him a bit.

Well, Oct. 10 was a Friday. Monday, as it turned out, was Columbus Day. Three-day weekend.

So, the boy wasn't able to get a court hearing until Tuesday, and was finally released about 6 p.m. that night.

There is a major difference between this case and one in the news lately. In that one, a 9-year-old Post Falls boy was detained for 22 hours for missing court hearings related to the theft of a pack of chewing gum. In that case, an arrest warrant was executed by authorities.

In this case, the boy had previously stolen a bicycle seat from Walmart, then told his mother. They took the seat back, but there were no repercussions.

Just a few days later he was caught stealing the doughnut at Super 1, after riding his bike there with a friend.

"(The boy) stated that after using the restroom he became hungry and decided he wanted a doughnut," according to an incident report completed by a Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputy. "(He) said that he had $1 on him and could have purchased the doughnut but chose not to, and instead chose to steal it."

When asked by the deputy what he was thinking during the theft, the boy replied, "'Nothing really, just eating a doughnut,'" the report said.

The boy, a Canfield Middle School student, was charged with misdemeanor petit theft.

The boy's mother, 32-year-old Brandy Snediker, said she visited her son over that weekend at the Kootenai County Juvenile Detention Center.

"The worst thing was (him saying), 'Mom, I can't even hug you,'" Snediker recalled Friday. "He was yelling at me, 'Mom, get me out.'"

She said he was vomiting blood after his time locked up because he was so stressed.

"I was bawling by the second day," she said.

She was disappointed in Walmart for taking the theft of the bicycle seat so casually.

"They just thought it was a joke," she said. "They were like, 'How'd you get away with this?'"

She said she has paid $110 toward the $150 owed to the grocery store for the doughnut theft.

"He only ate half of it," she joked.