YOUNGSTOWN Moms arraigned in child endangering

Both mothers are also accused of animal cruelty.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The children and dog in Tonya Rushton's South Side cockroach-infested house had no food or water, but according to a local cosmetology instructor, her crimped hairdo cost roughly $50.
The instructor, who used a photo of Rushton published in The Vindicator to estimate the cost, said women who want to keep the look spend that much in salons biweekly, sometimes weekly. Bootleg cosmetologists working out of kitchens charge far less, she said.
Patrolman Dan Mikus said in his report that Rent-A-Center recently rented Rushton jewelry, a computer and washer and dryer.
"I think her money would have been better spent providing a safe and wholesome environment for her children," he said.
Rushton's squalid 10-room house at 731 W. Indianola Ave. has been red-tagged as uninhabitable by housing inspectors.
The 30-year-old mother told officials that, although she hasn't moved in yet, Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority has found her another house.
Eugenia C. Atkinson, YMHA executive director, could not be reached.
What happened to dog
The starving and dehydrated pit bull found in the Indianola house had to be destroyed because it ate foam stuffing from a decrepit couch, said Dave Nelson, Animal Charity humane investigator. He said the animal would have suffered greatly from the foam stuffing in its stomach.
During a video arraignment Wednesday in municipal court, Rushton told Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. that her children should not have been inside the house on Indianola, where Nelson and Mikus found them and the dog.
Rushton's sister told the judge that the children, first taken into custody by Mahoning County Children Services, are now in her care.
Ben Joltin, an assistant city prosecutor, explained the facts of the arrest to the judge and asked for bonds totaling $30,500.
Judge Douglas then set Rushton's bond at $30,500 cash or surety. She remained in the county jail this morning. She is charged with four counts of child endangering and one count each of animal cruelty, failure to confine a pit bull and failure to have liability insurance for the dog.
Rushton told the judge "there's no way on God's green earth" she and her children would have lived in filth.
Mikus and Nelson had found the children lying on a cockroach-infested floor watching TV. The officer found broken windows, garbage and trash everywhere and urine-soaked mattresses.
Rushton, whose employment is uncertain, will receive a court-appointed lawyer to represent her.
Rushton worked as a hostess at Ruby Tuesday's in Southern Park Mall. Ed Lamancusa, restaurant general manager, described her as a great employee.
Rushton will be back in court July 10. The case has been assigned to Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly.
Related case
Judge Douglas also arraigned another South Side mother Wednesday who is accused of similar crimes. Mikus also found her residence in deplorable condition, including children's footprints in excrement.
He set bond at $17,500 cash or surety for Darlene L. Shina, 23, of 3916 Howard Ave. She faces two counts of child endangering, failure to register a dog and three counts of animal cruelty. She posted bond Wednesday afternoon, the jail said.
Shina also was charged with failure to appear in court on two traffic charges that were filed last August. She will be back in Judge Douglas' court July 23.
Shina wanted to address the judge, but her lawyer, Brian P. Kish, advised against it. Kish said he was there for arraignment only on behalf of Atty. David J. Betras, who will represent Shina.
Shina's arrest report shows no employment.
Her estranged husband discovered the squalid condition of the house on Howard Street when he tried to drop their two children off this week. Until his wife's arrest, they had shared child care.
Nelson found no food or water for a 7-month-old bulldog found in the house. A cat escaped.
After being checked out at Animal Charity, the dog was turned over to Shina's husband, who lives in Austintown. Nelson, though, found the dog back in Darlene Shina's care and discovered that, once again, the animal had no food or water.
In court Wednesday, the assistant prosecutor said it was his understanding that Austintown police would file a felony theft charge against Shina for taking the bulldog from her husband's North Roanoke Avenue home. Lt. Mark Durkin, however, said no theft charge would be filed and that Nelson was handling the matter.
meade@vindy.com