Police cite mother over house condition

The woman was cited last fall for having unlicensed dogs.

YOUNGSTOWN — Police said a South Side woman living in a house near where numerous dog carcasses were found last fall is now facing housing code violations of having a filthy house.

City police said they were called to 130 E. Warren Ave., the home of Lacreshia May, to check on a report of deplorable conditions inside and out.

Police said when they arrived at 11:06 a.m. Friday, they found five children, all under 18, inside, and one child was nude. Police said May, 27, who is nine months pregnant, was lying on a couch.

There was no running water, filthy clothes and debris were on the floor, and only sauerkraut, butter and onions in the refrigerator.

Police said they also saw a large, unleashed dog in the garage, peeling paint inside and out, and a broken window in the house.

Police said May’s water service was shut off Friday because she had an outstanding bill of $1,171.44.

May’s was the only occupied house on the dead-end street identified in September as the place where the Mahoning County dog warden found numerous dog carcasses in the woods.

Authorities had been called to the neighborhood for reports of dog fights in garages near the vacant houses.

In addition to the carcasses, they found living dogs with fresh injuries likely from dog fighting.

May was cited at that time for having an unlicensed cane corso and an unlicensed pit bull.

The pit bull, a large reddish male, was found barricaded with furniture to keep him inside a room in the basement.

On Friday, she was issued a summons to appear Monday in municipal court to answer to housing code violations.

Mahoning County Children Services was contacted to investigate her living conditions.

Police reports did not say whether the woman was told to leave the house after she was cited.