Two children taken from filthy Ceres home with no running water

Ceres police discovered two young children living in a filthy home void of food or running water when a toddler wandered up to one of them holding a bottle of prescription medication.

Officers were originally called to the home in the 2600 block of Roeding Road on Tuesday morning when the children’s father, 41-year-old Jesus Chavez, called police to say his wife had “touched” him with a baseball bat when he tried to leave, said Sgt. Jose Berber.

Chavez wanted an officer there while he collected his things. He and his wife, Analisha Melendez, 37, continued to fight so the parents didn’t notice their 17-month-old daughter trying to get into a bottle of prescription antihistamine, Berber said.

Officers learned the water had been turned off two months ago. Both the toddler and her 6-year-old sister were dirty, and the younger child had severe diaper rash. Feces was piled up on the toilet.

Berber said there was cockroaches throughout the house and rotten food on the floors and in the kitchen alongside piles of dirty dishes.

The home was filthy and cluttered with debris including heavy furniture stacked precariously and at risk of falling on the children.

The baby’s crib was not suitable for her to sleep in; it was full of items that could cause a child to suffocate.

A heater was falling out of the wall, its 20-volt plugs hanging six inches from the ground.

Code enforcement condemned the house, reporting that it had no water and unsafe living conditions.

“There was no edible food anywhere, and the sink was full of what appeared to be vomit that had sat for a while,” Berber said.

The 6-year-old told officers they hadn’t eaten since breakfast the day before.

Officer got crackers and water from neighbors to feed the children while their parents were arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and neglect.

The officers took the children to the police station, where they changed the baby’s diaper and helped them clean up.

Berber said there is a jar at the station officers put change in to use in incidents such as this when people are in need. He said they used money from it to buy the girls a meal before Child Protective Services arrived.

Chavez and Melendez voluntarily took a urine test for CPS, which revealed they were under the influence of methamphetamine.

The case is reminiscent of another in Ceres last month in which seven children were taken from a cockroach-infested one-bedroom apartment on Darrah Street.

That home was condemned, too, and parents of two of the children and mother of five were all arrested and charged with a count of child endangerment for each of their children.

All have since bailed out of jail. They are scheduled to appear in court next on April 13.

Berber didn’t know the status of those children on Thursday but said they are not with their parents.

Chavez and Melendez pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Thursday afternoon. Chavez’s bail remains at $100,000, but Melendrez’s was doubled because she has a strike conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. They will return to court Wednesday.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Two children taken from filthy Ceres home with no running water."