Kids Living In Filth Get New Clothes, McDonald's Meal From Joliet Police Officers

JOLIET, IL - For a handful of Joliet police officers, last week's response to an apartment in the unit block of Cagwin Avenue was a sight they will not soon forget. The two parents who were raising four little kids inside the filthy apartment were arrested on suspicion of child endangerment. The kids were removed from the squalor and placed into protective custody.

But that's only part of the story. The Joliet officers who responded to the call in the unit block of North Cagwin Avenue late last Wednesday night were unsettled by what they encountered that they used their own money to go out and purchase several sets of clean clothes from Walmart, diapers and baby wipes. And that was not all. They also bought the four children — ages 1 through 4 — a meal from one of the local McDonald's.

"This is something that the police officers did themselves. The officers spent their own money ... this is not a police fund," said Joliet Deputy Police Chief Edgar Gregory.

Meanwhile, Joliet police arrested the children's parents, Curtis E. Tucker III, 27, and Iesha L. Bellamy, 23, in connection with endangering the life and health of a child. Tucker and Bellamy are set to appear in court on July 28, according to police.

The incident unfolded after the apartment building manager realized that one of his downstairs apartment units had incurred water damage coming from the ceiling. Eventually, police officers were called to the scene, where they encountered Bellamy, the children's mother. She initially refused to let the officers come inside, "saying the house was a little messy," according to police. At some point, Tucker, the children's father, came out and let the police officers inside to conduct a child welfare check.

The conditions inside the unit were deplorable, Gregory said.

Inside, officers noticed that the children were covered with a heavy odor of urine, Gregory said, noting that garbage and soiled clothes were strewn throughout the apartment. The floor was covered with dirt and the hallway was cluttered with garbage, uncooked bacon and pieces of bread. The stove and freezer both did not work. There was no food in the shelves or inside the refrigerator, police said.

The officers also found clothing covered with ants and other bugs, police said.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified of the deplorable living conditions. Social service workers took the four children into protective custody. Gregory said it's his understanding that the kids were placed with family and friends.

As for the water leak? Officers discovered that the toilet inside the apartment of Tucker and Bellamy had been clogged by socks and other items, causing the leaky toilet to damage the ceiling of the downstairs apartment.