Baltimore mom accused of leaving 6 kids home alone held without bail, had prior assault conviction

An East Baltimore mother was held without bail Wednesday afternoon after a judge called her a threat to the public, citing an open warrant and a previous conviction stemming from a caught-on-camera assault.  

Police said the mother left her six young children home alone in a house without food, water, or electricity on Monday afternoon. 

She was placed in the rental home with help from Baltimore City housing officials, and Mayor Brandon Scott told WJZ he is reviewing this case and other crisis placements. He said those who failed to follow up on her case "will feel the full wrath" of city government.

What happened in court? 

Teonna Brown, 34, is facing six counts of child neglect that carry maximum fines if $5,000 and five years in jail each.

She appeared by video feed from the Patapsco Avenue District Courthouse Wednesday afternoon but did not speak. 

Judge Otis Freeman ordered her to have no contact with her children. Charging documents state they are all staying with relatives. 

Brown's public defender told Judge Freeman, "She had unfortunately dealt with substance abuse, and it has been a difficult six months."

He said she developed an addiction to over-the-counter medication and has been in pain since she was stabbed trying to shield her children when someone recently took her car.

Pre-trial services said Brown failed to appear in court in another case and was the subject of an open warrant. 

New information revealed in charging documents 

Charging documents obtained by WJZ Investigates said the house was unsafe, and the city condemned it after the children were taken.

Brown paid $1,500 a month in rent, according to court documents. 

She moved to the rowhome in the 2900-block of East Monument Street last April with help from the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development, which also provided the family with $300 to $500 in Walmart gift cards.

WJZ Investigates asked the mayor how she fell through the cracks.

"We did discover that the family was receiving some assistance, crisis assistance, through the housing department, which should have added an extra layer of oversight that clearly did not happen," Mayor Brandon Scott told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "Let me be very clear that will be addressed fully and completely with the Department of Housing and Community Development."

According to police, the now-condemned home on Monument Street had dog feces on the floors, no air conditioning, electricity, water or food for the six children inside. There was also a problem with the stove, and a city inspector found concerns with the gas service.

The children were ages 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 and appeared malnourished, police said. 

The mayor has now ordered the fire department and housing officials to inspect the dozen other properties of families receiving assistance through the same program. 

"They're out right now doing this and we'll also be taking a tough, hard look at whether the landlord, the private landlord who owned this property, was aware of the condition and take any action that we can there as well," Mayor Scott said. 

Hellgren reached out to what is believed to be the landlord in Montgomery County who did not return a request for comment. 

A Clean Corps employee discovered the children in an alley filled with trash and broken glass. 

Police said they were barefoot and partially clothed. 

"We're very fortunate and grateful that our Clean Corps member found them when they did because who knows what could've happened to those young people if they did not," Scott said.

What the mom told authorities

According to charging documents, Brown told police she asked a friend to watch the children but left for an appointment at a methodone clinic before he arrived. 

She said she spoke to him on a video call, and that he appeared to be close to the home as she rushed to get to an appointment at the clinic nearby. 

She said the children were asleep at the time and she assumed he was going directly to the home. 

According to police, Brown said she was running so late to her appointment, she did not wait but claimed she normally does not leave the children unattended. 

Viral assault case

Brown made national headlines in 2011, when as a teenager she was convicted of the hate crime beating of a transgender woman at a McDonald's restaurant in Rosedale, in Baltimore County. 

She was sentenced to five years in prison for that crime.

A juvenile was also charged in the beating. 

The victim, 22-year-old Chrissy Polis, said the incident started as she was trying to use the restroom.

"I went to go use the bathroom. I came back out, the girl spit in my face, and said, `Are you trying to talk to my man?'  I said, `No, I didn't even know that was your man at all.'  The other girl came up, spit in my face, then they started ripping my hair, throwing me on the floor," Polis said in a 2011 interview.

At sentencing, Brown tearfully offered remorse saying, "I'm sorry.  My mother did not raise me like this. I would really like to apologize to the victim, Miss Chrissy Polis."    

"I felt like I was going to die that day," Polis wrote to the Baltimore County judge. "I continue to suffer seizures, bouts of crying, mental anguish, and anxiety. I fear being alone. I have flashbacks about the attacks. I do not forgive them for what they did to me."

What's next? 

Police and Child Protective Services continue to investigate the case. 

The mayor pledged to get to the bottom of how the vulnerable children were overlooked. 

"It's unacceptable that those children were living in conditions like that, and everybody who had an opportunity to do something and did not will feel the full wrath of me and city government," Mayor Scott said. 

The children were examined at Johns Hopkins Pediatrics and have since been released from care. 

A concerned neighbor who asked that her identity be concealed because of emotions running high surrounding the case told WJZ Tuesday she hopes the public will not harshly judge Brown. She said many in the community have been helping her try to get back on her feet.

"I've heard a lot of the comments that's been made directed towards her and her character and her life itself," the neighbor said. "And I think that before we step out the gate and say, 'Oh, let's throw her to the wolves,' maybe we should step back and say, 'Gosh, was she struggling? Did she need help?'"

Brown's next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 1.