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BUCKHANNON -- An Upshur County man is facing a felony charge after his landlord and police allegedly found a child in his care living among trash, filth and maggots.
Hezekiah Anthony Spore, 35, of Buckhannon, is charged with one count of child neglect creating risk of serious bodily injury, a felony. He is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.
According to the criminal complaint, filed by Sergeant T.R. Collins with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, on July 24, the Sheriff’s Office received a direct call from the manager of Valley Green Apartments in Buckhannon regarding the welfare of a child.
The manager stated that, during her cleanliness check of an apartment, she allegedly observed Spore and the child, living in filth, the complaint states. The manager reportedly observed maggots in and around the refrigerator, as well as the aroma of urine and bleach throughout the apartment. When she went upstairs, the manager allegedly observed the child laying on the floor, which was covered in trash. She also told police that she had received a complaint the day before from a neighbor regarding the smell.
Collins obtained and executed a search warrant for the apartment, the complaint states. During the search, deputies allegedly observed trash throughout the entire space, along with clothes. Dirty dishes were in the sink and a sticky fly trap was covered in dead insects. Deputies reportedly also observed maggots inside and around the refrigerator.
When deputies entered the room, the manager had previously seen the child in, they reportedly found the space to be covered in household trash, cigarette butts and unknown stains on the mattress, the complaint states.
“Based on these observations, as well as the smell that was within the apartment, I placed (Spore) under arrest for child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury, a felony,” Collins wrote in the complaint.