Casper Police: 3 Kids Found in Feces-Ridden Home; Adults Arrested
Two Casper residents were arrested on felony child endangerment charges Tuesday after police officers entered their home and found moldy food, large piles of feces and mice running all over the house.
Eric M. Bushnell, 30, and Jazmin Z. Jones, 31, were each booked into jail on three recommended charges of child endangerment. Bushnell also faces a recommended misdemeanor drug possession charge.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, police officers went to a residence in the 5000 Block of CY Avenue after the Wyoming Department of Family Services asked for help with a home inspection. The home, where three children lived, was reported to be filthy to the point of posing a danger to the children.
Jones reportedly told a DFS employee that the home was in poor condition because she was in the process of moving to New Mexico.
The officers reportedly saw children playing on a floor which was littered with toys, clothes and mouse feces.
In one bedroom used by two children, mouse feces was all over the floor. Jones had evidently swept toys and mouse feces into a large pile in the middle of the room. The children were evidently unable to use the single twin bed.
Mold was found in and around the edges of the bathtub. Old urine and feces was seen inside the children's portable toilet.
Officers noted the strong smell of dog feces coming from the garage, along with a large pile of mouse feces in the middle of the kitchen floor. Moldy food was found inside the refrigerator, but the dishes appeared to have been washed and were drying on the counter.
More mouse feces was found throughout the house including the basement. Dirty laundry was piled up near the washing machine, which had mold around its lid.
Inside the garage were large amounts of dog and mouse feces. It smelled so strongly of dog feces and urine that one of the officers had difficulty photographing the area.
Bushnell arrived home during the inspection. He reportedly took sacks of fast food into the home, set up a small table in the living room and had the children start eating lunch.
A yellow and blue marijuana pipe was found in a small bedroom. Bushnell allegedly admitted to possessing pipes and a marijuana grinder inside the home.
Four juveniles were present during the inspection. Three were taken into protective custody; the other child's mother was present and had been preparing to take the children swimming.
Bushnell and Jones were expected to make their initial appearances in Natrona County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
A jail booking photo of Jones was not available from the Casper Police Department on Wednesday.