Animal cruelty tip leads to caged toddler, drugs, guns

PARIS, Tenn. — Three people are facing a multitude of charges after police found a caged toddler in a filthy Tennessee mobile home that also contained dogs, rodents and snakes, authorities said Friday.

Authorities went to the home Thursday after receiving an anonymous tip about possible animal cruelty, Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew. They found not only the child and animals, but guns and drugs, Belew told news outlets.

The 18-month-old boy was found in a 4-by-4 dog kennel in the living room, which also had eight snakes, including a 10-foot boa constrictor, and buckets filled with hundreds of mice, Belew said.

The home had 15 to 20 dogs running loose inside, feces on the floor and thousands of cockroaches and maggots, he said.

Outside the home, the sheriff said officials seized dozens of animals on the property including 86 chickens and roosters, 56 dogs, 10 rabbits, four parakeets and three cats.

The also found 127 marijuana plants and 17 guns, Belew said

Heather Scarbrough, 42, T.J. Brown, 46, and Charles Brown, 82, have been charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated cruelty to animals and manufacturing marijuana and other counts, Belew said.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the suspects have attorneys.

The Associated Press