Dad tried to plead guilty, but judge refused

The couple is working to get the house repaired to make it livable.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — James D. Lopez seemed tired as he appeared Friday to answer a charge of child endangering.

Lopez, 29, was charged by police after his 2-year-old daughter Jenna climbed out of a second-floor bedroom window and onto the porch roof — while he was sleeping.

She was rescued, unharmed, by neighbors.

Because the house was found in deplorable condition, Lopez, his girlfriend Melissa Bailey, and their four children aren’t allowed back into the house at 501 Parkman Road N.W. until it’s habitable.

Lopez appeared before municipal Judge Terry Ivanchak. Dressed in neat, clean clothes, Lopez wanted to plead guilty. But Judge Ivanchak entered an innocent plea on his behalf so Lopez had time review his legal options.

He was released after signing his name to a $5,000 recognizance bond.

Meanwhile, the children, Jenna; Angela, 10; Morgan, 12; and Moriah, 15, are staying with a grandmother in Warren, Bailey said.

Uninhabitable house

Lopez, who has lived in the house for 28 years after his father left it to him, said outside the courtroom Friday that he was tired Wednesday afternoon after working a night security guard job.

When police found him, he was asleep on a mattress on the living room floor. Bailey was at work.

The house had no workable plumbing. Food, clothing and debris were spread around the house, and plaster and wood had been removed, exposing the plumbing, reports stated. It had no working smoke detectors.

Lopez blamed the structural damage on “wear and tear.”

Chris Tanneyhill, city building inspector, said the city will work with the family to bring the house up to building code.

Thursday, Lopez said he bought the materials to get the plumbing working and it was installed by a friend who did the work for free.

Bailey said the couple will get custody of their children, who are with the grandmother under the auspices of Trumbull County Children Services, when work on the house is completed.

yovich@vindy.com