Inset: Tony Mayner. Background: Mayner's home in Sarasota, Florida, when he was arrested for child neglect (Sarasota Police Department).
A Florida father was arrested after he and his three kids were allegedly living in horrid conditions, despite a police attempt to help the man clean up the home two months earlier.
Tony Mayner, 48, is facing three charges of child neglect without great bodily harm, according to the Sarasota Police Department. Cops first went to the home in September after they peered through the windows of the home and noticed it was in disarray, which raised concerns for the safety of the children ages 10, 11 and 14.
Officers went inside the home to find it filled with empty beer cans, trash and "various types of drugs." There was also an empty above-ground pool in the middle of the living room. The home lacked any furniture, food in the fridge and all the beds in the home were dirty. Mayner allegedly said the kids hadn't been enrolled in school for two years.
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Police worked with nonprofits to get the kids food and school supplies, along with furniture for the home. The Department of Children and Families also got involved.
But some two months later, cops learned the kids had been missing school. They conducted a welfare check the morning of Nov. 6, a Thursday, to find Mayner and the kids still asleep in the home despite it being school hours. Cops went inside to still find the home in disarray.
"When I walked inside, I immediately observed several cockroaches running across the floors and walls of the home," an officer wrote in the probable cause arrest affidavit. "I observed wood rot in the interior doors/cabinets and a strong odor of mold coming from the inside of the home."
Trash and old food was strewn throughout the home. Cops also noted there was "barely any edible food inside the fridge" but there was plenty of booze around. Officers also learned that one of the boys was bitten by the family dog on the night before but Mayner allegedly failed to properly treat the wound.
Mayner was taken to jail where he allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine.
"Tony Mayner was given several chances and assistance to help care for [his kids] and it had progressively worsened throughout the investigation," the affidavit stated. "Tony Mayner's residence was unsafe to live in due to the cockroaches, flies, unconsumable food, mold smell, uncleanliness, and the necessary essentials to take care of [the children]."
