In child abuse case, police allegedly find drugs, knives; dog urine, feces; roaches, dirty dishes

 

An Oak Ridge man and woman were charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect after police conducting a welfare check on North Hollywood Circle on Saturday allegedly found drugs, paraphernalia, and several knives lying where a small child could reach them; dog urine and feces in several spots on the floor; roaches and dirty dishes with mold and bugs throughout the home; no running water that an officer could find; and a large bucket of dirty water in the middle of the floor, court records said.

The bathroom toilet was full of human waste, and there was a “foul odor throughout the residence,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.

There were several small individual wrapped plastic baggies lying in plain sight on the living room floor, and some had a green leafy substance inside that looked and smelled like marijuana and several had a white powdery substance inside them, packaged for resale, Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Sherrill Selby said in the warrants. There were two spoons with a white powder substance on them lying on a television stand, Selby said.

The home is within 1,000 feet of the playground of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, making it a drug-free school zone, the warrants said.

Charged in the case are Jordan Tyler Etheridge, 25, and Honey Lee Hook, 25, who live at the North Hollywood Circle address, according to the warrants.

Besides aggravated child abuse and neglect, Etheridge and Hook have also been charged with possession of Schedule I drugs, simple possession for resale, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Etheridge has also been charged with false reporting.

Selby said she was sent to the home on North Hollywood Circle to check on the child’s welfare because of living conditions reported to be unclean and unsafe. When she arrived, Etheridge was sitting in a black car in the driveway, Selby said. He told her there was not a small child inside, and no one was there but him and his two dogs, according to the warrants.

But a few seconds later, Selby said, Hook opened the door of the home and spoke to her. Hook said she was inside with her four-year-old son, Selby wrote in the warrants.

Etheridge and Hook remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Wednesday evening. Bond for Etheridge has been set at $220,000, and bond for Hook has been set at $210,000.

Both have arraignments scheduled for August 9.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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