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“Even before I got to the back of the door, I could smell a terrible stench of sewage and feces,” one officer said in the police report.
Angelica Burns (L) Tommy Couch (R)
A social worker told police that an apartment filled with trash and drugs was the worst place she had been during her 25 years of child services.
According to police, two children between the ages of 1 and 3 were found in the Stonegate apartments between garbage bags, half-eaten food and insects early on Wednesday.
A witness contacted the police and said they took 11 bags of trash from the apartment on March 4, only to return last weekend and find trash everywhere.
After receiving no answer at the front door, an officer entered through the back door, where they found the two children and three adults.
“Even before I got to the back of the door, I could smell a terrible stench of sewage and feces,” one officer said in the police report.
Once inside, the officer saw garbage bags and half-eaten pizza scattered around the room.
“I stepped into the living room and was overwhelmed by the terrible smell. When I tried to enter the residence, there were swarms of mosquitoes everywhere you went,” said the officer, who also said there were half-filled garbage bags in the Hall. Trash on the kitchen floor and hundreds of mosquitos on the cupboards.
“You literally had to cover your nose and mouth to avoid eating the mosquitos that were flying around,” the report said.
Garbage fell out of a bag. In the hallway, police say, rubbish was piled three feet high, including a broken mirror and other sharp objects. The officer couldn’t see the sink because of the trash.
“There was rubbish from the toilet to the bath tub that was about 3 feet high,” police said, adding that it was not possible to wash your hands or shower.
In one bedroom, police found syringes on the floor and empty drug containers. Trash lay next to a bed with a loaded syringe and a suspicious bag of meth.
There was a pile of suspicious heroin in front of a child’s bed.
The 3 year old girl said they hadn’t eaten anything since eating cookies and sweets for breakfast. She told the police that they usually eat sweets.
When a paramedic bought McDonald’s kids Happy Meals, he said the little girl started eating ketchup from the packet. When the girl ate chicken nuggets without stopping, the EMT said she had a big smile on her face.
Two of the adults were sent to the county jail and the children were admitted to Trumbull County Children’s Services.
Tommy Lee Couch and Angelica Burns, both 25, are charged with child endangerment and possession of substance abuse instruments and drug paraphernalia.
Both pleaded not guilty during a video indictment on Wednesday. As part of their bail, both are not allowed to have any contact with the children.
Her next trial is scheduled for April 20th.
