Officers were dispatched around 8 p.m. Tuesday to the 1600 block of Broadway Avenue to check the welfare of several children that were home alone, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
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When police arrived, they spoke with a neighbor who said she saw children inside the home alone. Police also saw the children in the windows, but were unable to make contact with them or anyone else inside the house.
The neighbor then told officers the children’s grandfather lives in the other side of the duplex, the affidavit says. Officers attempted to knock on the grandfather’s door for roughly seven minutes before he answered.
“Officers were informed that his (the grandfather’s) daughter had left the children at home and was at Wal-Mart on North Bechtle Avenue,” the affidavit says. “Ms. Vaughn stated that she thought the children were asleep so she just left for a little while to go to the store.”
When Vaughn arrived to her house about 30 minutes later, officers went inside the home to check the living conditions, the affidavit says. Once inside, “officers observed a residence that was in deplorable condition.”
According to the affidavit, police saw trash on the floor, tons of clothes piled throughout the home, prescription medicine laying in reach of the children, beds on the floor, no running water in the upstairs bathroom, backed up sewage that comes through the drains, no liter box for a cat, and loose food items inside a dirty refrigerator and freezer, the affidavit says.
Vaughn was arrested Tuesday night and charged with five counts of child endangering.
Her next court date will be set at a later time.
In the second case, Whitleigh Griffith, 24, and Brandon Potter, 34, of Enon, pleaded not guilty to one count of child endangering and two counts of drug abuse, court records show. They were both released on their own recognizance while they obtain council, and were ordered to have no contact with the child unless supervised.
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Officers were dispatched on Tuesday to the 30 block of South Burnett Road in reference to a burglary, according to an affidavit filed in the case. Dispatch told officers the homeowner got a call from a third party that someone was seen going into one of his properties.
When police arrived, they saw a light on in the front room and attempted to make contact with the occupants in the house, the affidavit says. One officer walked to the back, entered through an open door, and made contact with Griffith and a two-year-old who was sitting in a high chair.
According to the affidavit, the house was dark and cold, filled with trash, dirty dishes and clothes, spoiled food, and there were “hundreds of pieces of aluminum foil all throughout the kitchen, most of which had been charred” and drug paraphernalia in plain view.
Officers also saw plastic bags, tie offs and foil bundles containing “an unknown powder like substance” and “a crystal like substance,” and multiple straws and pipes, the affidavit says.
When officers went to check the upstairs conditions, they made contact with Potter, who they found had outstanding warrants in three other counties.
The child was then placed in the custody of Griffith’s father.
Griffith and Potter were arrested on two counts of possession of drugs and one count of child endangering. Potter was also arrested for his outstanding warrants through Mercer, Van Wert and Putnam counties.
Their next court dates will be set at a later time.
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