Inset: Latrica Upshaw (Craighead County Sheriff”s Office). Background: A section of Center Street in Jonesboro, Arkansas (Google Maps).
An Arkansas woman is accused of leaving three young children alone inside a filthy home and then lying to police that a relative was watching them.
Latrica Upshaw, 30, has been charged with third-degree escape from custody, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The defendant also faces three counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and DWI, local news outlet Jonesboro Right Now reported.
On Tuesday just after 9 p.m., a Jonesboro police officer approached a van driven by Upshaw just as she pulled into a driveway on Center Street in the midsize city, according to court records obtained by the local media source. The officer allegedly saw Upshaw with bloodshot and watery eyes, and said there was a strong odor of alcohol present.
When the officer asked the defendant for her proof of insurance, she allegedly tried to enter her home. Officers told her she needed to stay put, and after a struggle, she was detained. It was at this point that police could reportedly hear children crying inside the residence.
The officers entered and are said to have found three children — from nine months old to five years old — in an unsanitary situation. One of the children was reportedly wearing a soiled diaper and covered in feces, and officers noted the home was severely neglected.
Though Upshaw allegedly claimed an aunt was looking after the children, the officers found no one but the three young children inside.
The defendant was arrested, but not before attempting to run away from officers, according to Jonesboro Right Now.
Then, once Upshaw was caught again, she would not agree to a blood alcohol content test, police said.
The defendant is currently detained on a $75,000 bond in the Craighead County Jail, records show.
