California cops found toddler twins locked inside modified cribs “secured to the wall like dog crates” when they busted the tots’ parents for drug and weapons possession — but prosecutors declined to pursue child endangerment charges this week, insisting “there’s no kids in cages.”
Modoc County sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at the home of Ramon Alberto Zendejas and his girlfriend, Mercadies Irene Williams, both 25, on Friday, police said in a statement.
Once there, police said, they found three guns, ammunition, evidence of a butane honey oil lab and suspected meth.
They also discovered two small children inside the home — locked in two separate modified cribs that were stacked on top of each other and attached to the wall, the sheriff’s office said.
The children were twin boys, around 22 months old, local station KRCR reported.
Modoc County Sheriff Tex Dowdy told the outlet he believes the tots were locked up as “a way to keep them away from the other items that were located within the residence.”
Zendejas and Williams were booked on suspicion of being prohibited persons in possession of firearms and ammunition, as well as child endangerment, authorities said.
Zendejas also was charged with possession of a controlled substance, manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to police.
Both were being held on $10,000 bail. But the Modoc County District Attorney’s Office determined Tuesday that the pair would not face child endangerment charges, KRCR reported.
“There’s no kids in cages and it’s not a child endangerment case,” District Attorney Sam Kyllo said, according to the outlet. “They’re cribs, you can buy them on Amazon.”
Kyllo’s office has also declined to pursue charges related to a butane honey oil lab, though the duo will be charged for misdemeanor meth possession, the outlet reported.
He also said that the incident was blown out of proportion, and that the sheriff’s office agrees with him on how the case should proceed, according to the report.
