Police: 2 Arrested After Young Children Found In Filthy Ceres Home

CERES (CBS13) – Officers say they rescued a couple of young children from a filthy home in Ceres.

The Ceres Police Department says they were originally called to a home along the 2600 block of Roeding Road on Tuesday morning for a domestic disturbance. A husband and wife, 41-year-old Jesus Chavez and 37-year-old Analisha Melendrez, were reportedly fighting.

An 18-month-old girl then walked up to the officer who was trying to mediate the argument. The officer says the child was holding a non-locking prescription bottle full of Loratadine.

Police say the child tried to open the prescription bottle while Melendrez and Chavez continued to argue.

The officer took away the bottle and began to look around the house – finding the place in a state of serious neglect and disrepair. The officer noted that there was no running water, the toilet and sink was clogged with filth, cockroaches were everywhere and rotten food was all over the floor.

Both the 18-month-old and a 6-year-old girl were hungry and said they had not eaten since breakfast the day before. The toddler had severe diaper rash, police later found.

Chavez and Melendrez were arrested and are facing charges of child neglect and endangerment. The girls have been taken into Child Protective Services custody.