Three Lithonia Parents Cited for Creating Hazardous Condition After Leaving Minors

Three parents were cited for creating a hazardous or offensive condition after leaving several minors alone in a home in unincorporated Lithonia in the early morning hours while they went out to get water and then spent some time at a party, according to a DeKalb county incident report.

Police responded to a call April 6 at 12:25 a.m. about children left alone in a house in the 7000 block of Pine Mountain Road. The front door had no knob and could not be secured, the officer states in the report.

The home had no flooring --- only a plywood subfloor exposed throughout the house -- an empty freezer, and in the cabinets the officer found "a few old cans of food and nothing appeared fresh" the report states. There was no adult in the house.

The minor-age children, who police said seemed fine, offered different stories about the parents' whereabouts; one said they went to a club, another said they went to the store, according to the report.

The three parents of all the children -- the report indicates there were 10 victims -- arrived at 1 a.m. and told police that since the house did not have water, they went "up the street" to get some, leaving around midnight.

The parents "stayed a few minutes because their friends were having a party," the report states.

The parents -- two women, both 24, and one man, 29 -- were cited, then released.

Police contacted the on-call DFACS worker, who said the organization had recently visited the house. According to the report, DFACS is moving the family to another location.