CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies on Florida’s Gulf Coast arrested four people in two separate incidents of child neglect and animal cruelty, officials announced Wednesday.
According to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, deputies first responded on Jan. 24 to an RV in Inverness after reports of a dog attack.
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After arriving, deputies found five puppies and six adult dogs living in “deplorable conditions.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the RV was “covered in feces with an abundance of flies and a strong odor of ammonia.”
Steven Oliver, 52, and Shannon Oliver, 49, were living in tents outside the RV along with a minor, authorities said.
“There was no access to running water or electricity, and the conditions outside were both unsafe and unsanitary,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Madeline Scarborough said. “Officials observed an open area exposed with human feces and bacteria.”
Additionally, the child “was sleeping in a separate tent that contained blankets covered in dog feces and urine,” officials said.
According to the sheriff’s office, three days later, deputies responded to a home in Floral City for a welfare check on an animal.
“Immediately, deputies noticed in the middle of the living room, a child sleeping on a torn up mattress inside a crib,” Scarborough said. “Another small child was walking around the living room with dried fecal matter on the bottom of their feet. Inside the home, deputies located seven severely malnourished dogs and observed animal urine and feces scattered throughout the house.”
Deputies detained Jannet Fairfield, 35, and Lexx Lucas, 30, she said.
“While being questioned, Fairfield advised officials there were three other juveniles living in the home but that they were at school during this time,” Scarborough said. “When deputies asked where the children sleep, Fairfield stated the children do not have beds and instead sleep together on the couch.”
Officials with the Florida Department of Children and Families removed all of the children from both households.
The Olivers were charged with 11 counts of animal cruelty and one count of neglect, with a total bond of $24,000 each, while Fairfield and Lucas were charged with seven counts of animal cruelty and one count of child neglect, with a total bond of $16,000 each.