Published: January 23, 2006 11:43 pm         

Couple facing child abuse, drug charges

Two Enid parents are facing up to life in prison on child abuse charges after police executed a search warrant on drug complaints and allegedly found three children, including a 5-month-old, in squalid conditions.

Joseph Scott Morris and Renee J. Morris were charged Monday in Garfield County District Court with child abuse, possession of marijuana in the presence of a child and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both face up to life in prison on the abuse charges, up to two years on the drug charges and up to a year, a $1,000 fine or both on the paraphernalia charge.

Both posted $6,000 bond for their three charges Monday evening and are expected to return to court for a bond appearance March 21.

Enid Police Department Narcotics Unit and EPD SWAT Team executed two simultaneous warrants about 6:30 Saturday at 916 and 920 E. Oklahoma.

Upon entering 916 E. Oklahoma, the Morrises’ home, police “located within two feet of the makeshift baby bed was dog feces that appeared to have been from a large dog,” according to an affidavit.

Police describe seeing dog feces smeared into the carpet in the house and found two other children, ages 3 and 4, who apparently had slept in the living room, one on top of two couch cushions on the floor, the other on the couch without cushions.

The children were “unclean in nature and appeared not to have had a bath recently,” according to the affidavit. On a table next to the couch, police found a partially smoked marijuana cigarette, according to the affidavit, and near the other end of the couch found a bong with burnt marijuana residue in it, as well as two other items of paraphernalia within reach of the children.

Police continued their search of the house and found “a large amount of dog feces and urine” in every room, and the house “had a pungent odor of feces and urine,” according to court documents.

Police also found numerous items of drug paraphernalia, a bag containing 3.7 grams of marijuana, two and a half pills of Ambien and a bottle containing a “large amount of pills” that were later identified as Zoloft and Lamictal, according to the affidavit.

A caseworker from Department of Human Services came to the house and initiated an investigation into the children’s welfare. The children were released into the custody of their grandparents.

Also charged in court Monday were two Enid men from the neighboring home, Greg Justin Caldwell, 22, Leonard “Lenox” Labeau Johnson, 19, and an unidentified 16-year-old male.

Caldwell and Johnson each were charged with a count of possession of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, and both face four to 20 years in prison.

After entering the house at 920 E. Oklahoma, police found amounts of marijuana throughout the house, as well as multiple items of paraphernalia, according to the affidavit.

During a search of Johnson, police found several short straws with a white residue in them, which tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the affidavit.

Police also found a coin bag containing a white powdery substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the affidavit.

Officers used a laser measuring device and determined the house was 279 feet from a property owned by Enid Public Schools.

Both men posted $3,000 bond Monday and are scheduled to return to court March 23 for a bond appearance.