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BUCKHANNON -- An Upshur County man and woman face abuse charges after police allegedly found a child and animals in their care living in “repulsive” conditions.
Dakota Ray Mcie, 23, and Ciarra Marueen Lacey, 22, are both charged with one count of child abuse creating risk of injury, a felony. They are also both charged with one count of cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor.
Mcie was being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $25,000 personal recognizance (PR) bond and a $5,000 property/surety bond for the felony charge, and on a $5,000 PR bond for the misdemeanor. His bonds have since been posted.
Lacey is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond for the felony charge. She is also being held on a $5,000 cash-only bond for the misdemeanor charge.
According to the criminal complaints filed by Cpl. Dakota Linger with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, on Aug. 5, Linger received a call regarding a welfare check where Mcie and Lacey reside with a child.
Linger spoke with the complainant, who wished to remain anonymous, over the phone, the complaint states. The complainant provided Linger with video showing the interior of the residence. The video appeared to show the living conditions within the residence that could cause a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to the child. The floor throughout the residence was reportedly covered with dog feces, including areas “immediately adjacent to the child’s bed and crib.” Flies were reportedly observed throughout the kitchen, indicating an “advanced level” of unsanitary conditions. The video also reportedly showed the residence to have decomposing trash, animal feces and human vomit. Linger wrote that this suggests “prolonged accumulation of biological waste.”
The complainant allegedly described the residence as “repulsive” and stated that the odor inside the home made the child “nauseous,” the complaint states. The complainant also reportedly told Linger that the home did not have air-conditioning and parts of the restroom were unusable.
Linger wrote in the complaints that the conditions seen in the video exposed the child to “biological hazards” that are capable of transmitting bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens. He continued that these pathogens can result in “serious gastrointestinal infections, dehydration, parasitic infection and other communicable diseases.”
After reviewing the video, Linger prepared an affidavit and application for a search warrant for the residence so he could investigate and confirm the conditions depicted in the video, the complaint states. Once the search warrant was obtained, Linger, Lt. Power, Sgt. Gordon and Animal Control Officer Ray Bowman responded to the residence.
According to the complaint, the conditions observed inside the residence were consistent with what was depicted into the video. The residence contained conditions that “appeared to be unsafe and unsanitary” for a child and the animals residing inside. Linger had an on-call CPS worker come to the residence as well due to the child’s safety. The CPS worker let a family member take custom of the juvenile.
The video provided by the complainant also reportedly showed animals confined inside a pen without visible food or water, the complaint states. The animals were allegedly observed standing and walking in “accumulated urine.” Bowman seized three dogs from the residence.