Woman faces felony for allegedly hitting child

HELMSBURG — A Brown County woman faces a Level 5 felony after police say she hit a child while she was intoxicated.

Police responded to a home on Second Street on June 2 just before 7 p.m. for a report of a domestic disturbance.

A woman there said she wanted police to go to another home in Helmsburg to tell Loretta Scott, 35, that she and the children would not be home until the next day as they waited for the situation to calm down, says a probable cause affidavit by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Stargell.

The woman said they were having a birthday party for a child and when she went to invite Scott to the party, she discovered she was intoxicated. Scott refused to go to the party and the woman left, the affidavit states.

The woman returned to the home to get a grill for the party and Scott came outside and punched her in the jaw, the report said. Stargell reported not seeing any sign of injuries on the woman and the woman said she did not want to pursue a battery charge against Scott.

One man at the party told police that Scott had struck the child while he was at her home. Stargell went to speak to the child and reported he had a blackened and swollen right eye that appeared to be fresh. The child also showed Stargell scratches on his side.

Stargell and other officers went to see Scott, who smelled of alcohol. He also reported she had slurred speech and unsteady balance.

Scott said the child was mad and acting out because she would not let his girlfriend come to the party or be on her property, the affidavit states. She told police she did not hit the child. Scott told police she only had two vodka “shooters.”

Stargell took photos of the child’s injuries. The child told police he was at Scott’s home and that she called his girlfriend a derogatory name. The two began arguing and he said Scott swung at him with her fist, hitting him in his right eye, according to the affidavit. She then started punching him in the back.

He told police he was glad she was getting arrested because “he was tired of everything going on” at the home, the affidavit states.

Police went back to speak with Scott and she admitted to calling the child’s girlfriend a name and arguing with him. Scott was then placed under arrest.

On June 3, Scott was charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, a Level 5 felony; and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.

Man faces felonies for not paying child support

A Brown County man faces two felonies for owing more than $12,000 in child support.

James Melton, 41, was charged June 4 with two Level 6 felonies for nonsupport of a dependent child.

According to a probable cause affidavit, since 2005, Melton has been ordered to pay $69 a week in support. From Jan. 5 to June 1 of last year, Melton failed to make his payments, resulting in him owing $6,409 as of May 14 this year.

Melton also failed to make payments from Oct. 17, 2018, to March 26 of this year, totaling another $6,409 as of May 14, the affidavit states.

Melton owes a total of $12,818, the report said.

Child flown out for care after drinking liquid

HAMBLEN TWP. — A child was flown to a hospital on June 3 after swallowing hazardous liquid at a home on Smith Road.

According to the Brown County Sheriff’s Department dispatch log, the medical emergency was reported just around 1:23 p.m. Dispatch reported over police radio that the liquid was kerosene and that the child was around 15 months old.

A deputy, the Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department, Hamblen Township Volunteer Fire Department and EMS responded along with a Lifeline medical helicopter. The deputy assisted with the Lifeline landing at Sprunica Elementary School.

Information on the child’s condition was not available, as the child’s name was not released.