BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - Three people are behind bars following an investigation into children living in an unsafe home.
Patricia Coffee of Bloomfield and Michael Coffee, with a Clarkton, Mo., address listed on the warrant, were arrested and charged with three counts of the Class C felony of endangering the welfare of a child-first degree. Sylvia Yount, whose address is listed at the home in question, was also arrested and faces one count of the Class C felony of endangering the welfare of a child-first degree.
According to the probable cause affidavits filed by Stoddard County Sheriff's Deputy Travis Stafford, he responded on Wednesday to a call to assist the Division of Family Services in an investigation of a home located on County Road 420.
Upon arrival, Stafford noticed half of the house's roof was missing and the other half had only decking and no shingles.
After he entered the home, Stafford said he observed it to be "extremely unsanitary" due to old food as well as animal feces on the floors, counters and furniture.
The ceiling of the living room was allegedly made of plastic that was sagging because of the weight of leaves and water on top of it. The dining room light, he said, was hanging through the leaves and water.
"The floors were weak to walk on due to the amount of water coming through the plastic," he said in his statement. "I also noticed there to be an extension cord lying on the floor where the children had been playing, and it was covered in water."
While standing in a room where the children were playing, the deputy observed a toddler trying to walk across the cords, and he moved her away because of a "good possibility of electrocution".
One of the children's room, which he observed to be cold, had a plywood ceiling with no roof above, and Stafford wrote he could reach his hand outside through the gaps in the walls.
A piece of plywood was found partly hanging down above a couch where one of the children slept. The board was propped up with a broken two-by-four sitting on top of a cooler.
At several places in the home, Stafford noted he had to hold onto the walls to avoid falling through the floor. Because it was raining at the time, water was running into the house during the visit.
A total of seven people are believed to have lived in the home. The Coffees have three children, and Yount, a relative, had one child.
All three are currently being housed in the Stoddard County Jail awaiting a $20,000 cash-only bond.