Couple accused of leaving small children home alone
An Adams Township couple was charged with a pair of felonies after police accused them of leaving their young children unattended at home with their medical marijuana out in the open.
Brannon, 34, and Brittany Irvin, 30, each were arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Amy Marcinkiewicz on two felony counts of child endangerment and misdemeanor counts of child endangerment, medical marijuana violation, drug possession and drug paraphernalia possession.
Following their arraignment, the couple was released on $25,000 unsecured bond.
According to charging documents, police received a call Monday to check on the welfare of the Irvins’ children. The caller reported they had witnessed the Irvins leave their five children unattended at home multiple times in the past month, usually for 20 to 30 minutes at a time.
“Upon arriving, I rang the doorbell to the residence, and could hear younger children inside,” a police officer said in the affidavit. “The door was then opened by a small female child (discovered to be 5 years old) wearing only bottom underwear, who was soon joined by an even smaller female child (discovered to be 2 years old), wearing only a diaper.”
Police said they asked the girls if there was an older sibling around, and they called a 9-year-old boy to the door. Police said the boy was unable to provide spellings of the girls’ names or their dates of birth, and while speaking with him, they noticed a strong smell of marijuana.
Police said they conducted a brief search for safety at which point, they saw medical marijuana and its remnants on the kitchen counter.
“Directly beside the containers were packaging for blunts, and directly beside that were blunt cigars,” police said.
According to police, the parents arrived almost exactly two hours after the call was placed and about one hour after troopers arrived at the home. Police said the two were placed under arrest, during which time Brannon Irvin requested his medication from their vehicle.
Police said while the medication was retrieved, they spotted four small baggies of a suspicious substance.
“Based upon my training and experience, it appeared to be crack cocaine,” an officer said.
