Inset: Jessica Copeland (Putnam County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The house where Copeland allegedly left her minor son while she vacationed in Las Vegas, Nevada (Google Maps).
A Florida mother was arrested this week after leaving her minor son home alone while she spent several weeks vacationing in Las Vegas, Sunshine State law enforcement allege.
Jessica Copeland, 37, stands accused of one count of child neglect, three counts of cruelty to animals, and four counts of confinement of animals without food, Putnam County court records show.
Deputies with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office originally responded to a house on Songbird Road in Palatka – a medium-sized city located roughly 45 miles due east of Gainesville – in response to a welfare request, and at first seemed to find everything in order.
An adult allegedly answered the door, offered to find the defendant’s teenage son, did so, and then sent the authorities on their way.
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“That adult told the deputies, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m cleaning up. I can grab the teenager so you can see he’s being taken care of,'” officials told Jacksonville-based independent TV station WJXT. “The child came outside, talked to deputies, and told them everything was fine. There were no issues.”
Then came another call – this time with evidence, deputies say.
Law enforcement made the trek back, this time on allegations of animal neglect, according to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime.
Inside the house, the son told deputies he was “in control ” and alone – and that he had been on his own since July 21, while his mother traveled to Las Vegas on vacation, according to the report
The minor further alleged he was “not given the proper necessities to survive” and had to rely on others to bring him food, the report claims.
The deputy goes on to write that they requested to view the inside of the residence. The minor allegedly warned the deputy that there was “poop everywhere” from the family’s seven dogs.
The dogs’ names are Onyx, Hera, Big Boy, Faye, Bella, and Kitty, deputies noted. Their breeds are identified as two pit bull mixes, a Lab/Mastiff, two chihuahuas and a Chiweenie, respectively. The seventh dog, Chase, is a black mouth cur.
“Entering the front door of the residence I was met by multiple dogs in various poor conditions as well as the smell of feces and urine,” the report reads. “In the living room I observed all walking areas to the other bedrooms encased in a thick layer of brown/white matter identified as animal feces. On the floor, I observed multiple crockpot bowls filled with water with unknown insects floating and flying around the surface.”
The charging document goes on to describe various states of filth and disrepair inside the residence – alleging on multiple occasions that the dogs were confined in a room with feces roughly four inches thick.
When asked by the deputy how long the house had been in such condition, the woman’s son allegedly said it had been that way for years because “this is the way Jessica keeps the house and refuses to clean,” according to the arrest report.
Some of the dogs were emaciated or “extremely emaciated,” while others lacked access to “the correct food and water,” the report says.
Copeland is currently detained in the Putnam County Jail on $25,000 bond, court records show. On Tuesday, she was appointed a public defender, and a no-contact order was issued in her case.
