Officers find filthy conditions inside East Philadelphia Avenue house

YOUNGSTOWN — A 53-year-old East Philadelphia Avenue woman may face charges after police found her home in horrid condition with neglected animals roaming around inside.

Officers went to 253 E. Philadelphia Wednesday with a search warrant for the house after the owner previously refused to allow officers in to conduct an interior inspection of the house following complaints about the odor emitting from inside the structure.

The resident, 53-year-old Sandra Leonard, is in Mahoning County Jail on a civil contempt charge after refusing to allow officers to inspect the home on three different occasions.

According to police, officers found 10 sickly and neglected animals inside. All of those animals, eight cats and two dogs, have been taken to Animal Charity for proper care. The condition of home, however, left officers wondering how anything, man or animal, could live inside.

According to reports there was no clear path through the house with junk and trash piled from floor to ceiling. Officers found the kitchen floor covered in feces to the point where the tile on the floor could no longer be seen.

Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com