DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A Daytona Beach man was arrested Wednesday after a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old were found wandering in the road, according to officials from the Daytona Beach Police Department. The home the children were living in was described by police as "smelling of rotting food and fecal matter."
Evan Wright, 25, was arrested on two charges of child neglect, one charge of marijuana possession under 20 grams and one charge of possession of paraphernalia. Officials have not released the address of the home where the children were living and Wright was found, but have said it is in Daytona Beach.
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Police said Wright was found asleep while he was supposed to be watching the children. Those children led police to the home and Wright after being found before entering the road at the intersection of Fairmount Road and Dunn Avenue, officers said.
A witness, who stopped the children from walking into the road, found their home with an open door, according to Wright's arrest report. The report states that during officers' search of the residence, they found Wright asleep, as well as a pill bottle and a glass smoking device with marijuana on a side table.
The children's mother arrived during the investigation and said she had left the children with Wright while she went to run errands, police said. She told police Wright was awake when she left.
Authorities said the home was in "disarray" with large amounts of trash on the floor and living and dead insects in the kitchen. The children were both in good health, according to authorities. Their mother has not been charged with anything, though officers did contact the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Wright is being held at the Volusia County Jail on $6,000 bond.