Small child wandering, filthy residence leads to felony arrest of Carson City pair
Two were arrested Wednesday for suspicion of felony child abuse neglect/endangerment, according to a Carson City Sheriff's Office booking report.
Samantha Ann Washam was taken into custody at 9:11 a.m. in the 3400 block of Woodside Drive. She was also booked for alleged felony parole and probation violation. Also arrested for suspicion of child abuse neglect/endangerment was Roy Edward Peabody III, 27. Both are from Carson City.
According to the booking report, deputies were called to the 3400 block of Woodside Drive in reference to a child in need of supervision. A reporting party called 911 when they found who they believed was a 3-year-old child wandering around in only a diaper and blanket.
Prior to the deputy's arrival on scene, the child's mother was holding her daughter who was in a diaper and wrapped in a blanket. Samantha Washam told the deputy she left the residence at around 8 that morning to take two of her other kids to school. She advised she woke up her boyfriend, Roy Peabody III, when she left so he could watch the child and her other daughter, the report states.
The deputy escorted the mother and daughter to the apartment. On the walkway outside of the apartment were stacks of clothes and trash. The deputy could see a plastic garbage bag near the front door containing hundreds of old cigarette butts.
When Washam opened the door the deputy observed an overwhelming foul odor coming from inside the apartment, the report states. As the door opened further the deputy observed heaps of trash, clothes and debris all over the living room.
When Washam bumped into a pile of trash inside the living room, dozens of small black flies took flight, the report states. The entire floor was covered in trash, dirty clothes, dirty dishes, toys and rotting food. Various sizes and types of flies flew out of the trash piles. The woman stated she ws just on her way home to clean everything up, the arrest report states.
The deputy read the woman her Miranda warning and she agreed to speak. The deputy notes she was honest and remorseful about the living conditions of her home. She agreed it was no place for children to live and made no excuse as to why the conditions were so bad, the report states.
The boyfriend, Roy Peabody III, came to the door groggy and disheveled. He denied any recollection of Washam waking him up to watch the children and stated he was a heavy sleeper. The officer had the man exit the apartment and he stood by with another deputy while the arresting deputy was interviewing the woman. She walked the deputy through the apartment, which, the deputy notes, was unlivable due to the filth and bug infestation.
The two suspects were arrested and the Division of Child and Family Services was contacted where caseworkers coordinated with the woman's stepmother to take custody of the children, the report states.
Deputies obtained statements from others who lived nearby who witnessed the child crying in the street for her mother before being found. Washam is being held without bail due to parole and parole violation in which she had a previous change of child abuse neglect/endangerment, the report states. Roy Peabody III's bail amount was listed at $40,000.
— All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from the arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.