Casper Police Find Children in ‘Life-Threatening’ Conditions
Two people were arrested Thursday and children were taken into protective custody after a report of domestic violence led Casper police officers to find children living in "deplorable, life-threatening" conditions.
Brittani Emmons was booked into jail on recommended charges of domestic battery and child endangerment, while Levi McKim was booked on a charge of child endangerment.
Charging papers state Casper police officers responded to a home in the 2000 Block of South McKinley at 2:40 p.m. Thursday for a report of someone banging on an apartment door and yelling.
Upon arriving, officers met McKim who said that he and his live-in girlfriend, Emmons, had gotten into an argument which turned physical. McKim said Emmons had locked him out of the apartment after hitting him in the head and breaking his phone. Officers noted evidence of both claims.
Emmons was found in the apartment with multiple children. Officers began speaking with her and were inside the apartment for less than a minute before one child put a penny in his mouth and an officer had to fish it out.
Emmons said she didn't know where the penny had come from and immediately blamed McKim for not picking up the house.
Officers saw several old dirty diapers, random trash, crumbs, food and toys all over the floor. Food had been left out for days, and officers noted over 40 empty soda cans and bottles scattered throughout the living room.
In the kitchen, police noted old food on the counters, several bags of trash and dirty diapers all over the floor. "Trash was piled up so high that several portions of the kitchen weren't even usable," police noted.
Dirty diapers were found in the bedrooms and old bottles were leaking milk onto the floor. Police immediately realized that the conditions were unsuitable for children.
Officers saw life-threatening choking hazards all over the floor throughout the apartment. One child was seen "grazing" through the mess, finding snacks and other small items to put into his mouth. Officers stopped a child from putting small items from the floor into his mouth on three occasions, due to the choking hazard.
"While officers scrambled to keep [a child] alive Emmons sat on the couch, blaming McKim for the mess and advising that it was not her job to keep the house clean," court documents state. The living conditions were photographed and the Wyoming Department of Family Services was notified.
Emmons reportedly was unable to tell police a single story. Emmons had three different versions of the events in which the only constant was her admission that she hit McKim and threw his phone onto the floor.
"Emmons was obviously angry because McKim slept all day and played video games all night," the affidavit reads in part.
A DFS agent responded and the children were taken into protective custody. The adults were arrested.