A Palm Coast couple was arrested after deputies found “deplorable living conditions” in a home, including bedding soiled with feces and urine, the smell of urine emanating from the house and an infant in a pack ‘n play infested with roaches, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Tashaye Brown, 31, and Nikolas Cummings, 32, were arrested after the discovery in the home in the city’s W-section, according to the sheriff’s office.
Cummings and Brown were each charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and neglect of an elderly or disabled adult without great bodily harm. They were taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, which the sheriff calls “the Green Roof Inn.” The two were being held on a $15,000 bond.
A Flagler County Fire Rescue member requested a welfare check on Jan. 13 while assisting an elderly man at the home after seeing “bedding heavily soiled with feces and urine as well as live cockroaches, cockroach droppings and garbage scattered throughout the residence,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Shaking out the roaches in the pack ‘n play
Major Case Unit detectives smelled “a pungent odor of urine emanating from the home” and found spoiled food and feces scattered throughout the house. They also saw a child inside a pack ‘n play infested with cockroaches.
Brown said she was aware of the infestation, but it cost too much to hire a pest control company. She said she would flip the pack ‘n play upside down and shake out the roaches. Then she said she would place the infant back inside. Afterward, she would spray insecticide around the base of the pack ‘n play.
Detectives also saw spots consistent with roach droppings along the walls and ceilings and mold around the HVAC system vents, the sheriff’s office stated.
Detectives also spoke to an elderly man who said he had just returned home from the hospital. The elderly man was unable to walk, feed or change himself, or take his medication without someone helping him. He had scabs on his legs and insects coming out of his socks, the sheriff’s office stated.
According to Brown, she and her fiancé, Cummings, moved into the home about two years ago to care for the elderly man. Cummings said he and Brown “were the elderly man’s sole providers and caretakers,” the sheriff’s office stated.
The elderly man was taken to a hospital for treatment, and the infant is in the care of family members. The Department of Children and Families is also investigating.
“The deplorable conditions of that house were no place for a toddler or a senior with serious medical issues,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. “These two feigned ignorance over the trash, feces and insects covering the floors, walls and victims inside the home. This was not a matter of money, they did not care about the hygiene of their home, the welfare of their child, or the medical needs of their family members. They put in zero effort. We will make sure their cells are clean at the Green Roof Inn.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast pair charged after adult, child found in ‘deplorable’ home
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
