A man from Muncie was arrested for neglecting his children and a family pet.
MUNCIE, Indiana (CSU) – A Muncie father was arrested on suspicion of neglecting his children and a pet due to the living circumstances in the home his family was being evicted from.
Preliminarily charged with two charges of neglect of a dependent and a single count of neglect of a vertebrate animal, Anthony Wayne Hodges, 41, remained in the Delaware County prison on Monday under a $12,500 bail.
A Delaware County sheriff’s deputy was sent to a residence in the 300 block of East Gilbert Street on Thursday. Hodges and his family were being evicted, according to the property management.
Hodges’ two children were discovered in the house, along with minimal food, mouse nests, dog excrement, and “bugs of every type and garbage all over the floor,” according to the deputy.
A dog was also confined in the home without food or water, according to reports.
Hodges was arrested at work and subsequently admitted there was “trash and old food around the home,” that a kitchen sink was “unusable” owing to a plugged drain, and that his family’s water supply was a bathtub.
He said that his children disliked his dog and refused to look after it while he was not at home.
The children were put in the care of another family member after the Indiana Department of Child Services was contacted.
According to court records, Hodges, previously of Anderson, was convicted of driving while drunk.
