MONROE — A search warrant on an Albany home in April resulted in authorities taking two young children into protective custody and filing charges against their parents for drug offenses and child neglect.
Police searched the residence on West Nichols Street on April 9 after Green County Human Services investigated “complaints of drug use around children and the condition of the home,” according to police reports filed in Green County Circuit Court.
Two residents, Stephen Duane Detra, 45, and Ashley Shawntae Smith, 29, are each charged as a result with two felony counts of neglecting a child, a felony count of maintaining a drug-trafficking place and misdemeanor counts of possessing cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Detra is charged as a repeat offender and Smith as a party to a crime.
A third resident, Rheaon Oshay Johnson, 19, is charged with felony bail jumping and possessing drug paraphernalia as a party to a crime.
Detra and Smith’s children, ages 1 and 3, were removed from the home. Police reported no specific injuries or harm to the children but took witness reports of physical abuse and infrequent diaper changes that caused rashes.
Officers who searched the home reported it was in “complete disarray,” littered with drug paraphernalia and had an “overly pungent smell of urine and garbage.”
A crack pipe and cocaine were “within reach of young children,” as were ashtrays, cigarettes, open alcohol containers, broken furniture and piles of garbage. Besides drugs, police seized a digital scale and cellphones that contained messages of apparent drug deals.
The baby room where the children were kept had low windows, uncovered outlets and exposed copper piping, police reported. A cat litter box in another room was filled with feces and “also had children’s clothing in it.”
Smith has no criminal record in Wisconsin.
Detra was convicted of child abuse in 2013 and sentenced to one year in jail and three years on probation. The case stemmed from an incident in 2012 at the same house on West Nichols Street in Albany. Detra spanked and hit a 4-year-old with a metal broom handle, causing “significant” bruising on the child’s back and face, according to court records.
As part of his sentence, Detra was ordered to seek counseling and substance abuse treatment. A 2013 letter to the court from the psychotherapist who counseled him stated Detra was “an active participant in the counseling process” and recognized the impact of his anger.
“Stephen has described the abusive past he lived through as a child,” the therapist noted. “He is anxious to find specific ways to end the abuse cycle so that he does not pass this on to his children. Stephen is quite remorseful about the impact his behavior has had.”
On April 15, Detra signed a $15,000 signature bond and Smith signed a $10,000 signature bond. Their bond conditions prohibit drug use or possession and contact with several individuals, including the two children removed from the home, except as permitted by Green County Human Services. Their preliminary hearing is May 23.