Police arrest dad after finding toddler wandering in Struthers, home in deplorable conditions
STRUTHERS, Ohio - A Struthers father was arrested after police said his young son he was supposed to be watching wandered out the back door.
The incident happened on Friday just after 5:30 p.m. on the 200 block of Sexton Street.
Police said they received a call from a woman who said she found a two-year-old boy on her front porch without a coat or shoes on.
After about an hour of searching and without any calls to police, they found the back door open of the child's home and found 22-year-old Cody Shields, the child's father, according to a police report.
Police asked Shields if he was missing a child and they said he seem perplexed, saying he had not seen his son in almost an hour.
Officers said they found the home in "extremely deplorable" conditions, with the floor littered with dog feces as well as clothes and trash scattered along the floor and tables.
There were also used diapers on the ground and dishes piled up on the sink, according to the report.
Police said Shields told them he was too busy getting high and playing video games in his room to watch his child who escaped out the back door.
Police said the road the child wandered to was a busy road with lots of traffic.
Officers went up to Shields' room after smelling an odor and discovered the floor was littered with various bongs, vape pens, marijuana bowls and suspected drugs, which were logged for evidence, according to police.
Shields was charged with endangering children and placed under arrest.
He was also cited with possession of marijuana and received a property code violation for having trash scattered outside the home as well as a giant mattress.
Shields made a written statement to police which advised that he was not being a responsible parent as he was too busy playing video games and getting high to realize his two-year-old son was missing until police made him aware of it at his back door, according to the report.
Police said they then contacted Shields' girlfriend, the child's mother, who spoke with police, saying she knew the living conditions were deplorable and she was aware of drug usage at the home, but she thought her boyfriend was responsible enough to watch the child while she was at work.
The child was released into her custody and was told that a prosecutor would be notified as well as Mahoning County Children Services.
