Last week’s arrest by the Sheriff’s Department of a homeless couple in Joshua Tree has gotten lots of media attention. It’s also raised questions about what, exactly, constitutes a crime. Reporter David Haldane addresses some of them…
Does being homeless with children constitute felony child abuse? The sheriff’s department obviously thought so when deputies arrested a Joshua Tree couple living in a plywood box with three children and 30 cats. The children are now in the custody of family services, and the parents – Mona Kirk and Daniel Panico – face criminal charges to which they have pleaded not guilty.
Friends have described them as caring parents. And, indeed, Captain Travis Newport says the department’s usual practice is to put homeless families in shelters, not jails. But this case, he says, is different; arresting deputies reported no food in sight, no evidence of showering, urine and feces everywhere and questions regarding the children’s schooling.
Much of that is disputed. But California law, Newport says, prohibits the endangerment of children’s physical or mental well-being. And so the arrests were made, the kids removed, and the charges filed. The outcome, he said, will be up to the courts.
SHERIFF’S CAPTAIN EXPLAINS JOSHUA TREE HOMELESS FAMILY ARRESTS
