Inset: Photo of Jessica Copeland provided by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Background: The residence linked to the incident where Copeland allegedly left her young son while she was in Las Vegas, Nevada (Image: Google Maps).
A mother from Florida has been detained after authorities claimed she abandoned her underage son at home during a several-week-long trip to Las Vegas.
Jessica Copeland, aged 37, faces charges for one count of child neglect, alongside three counts of animal cruelty and four charges related to confining animals without adequate food, as indicated by Putnam County court documents.
Officers from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office initially visited a residence on Songbird Road in Palatka—a city approximately 45 miles east of Gainesville—after receiving a request to check on someone’s welfare and initially found nothing seemingly amiss.
An adult allegedly answered the door, offered to find the defendant’s teenage son, did so, and then sent the authorities on their way.
“One adult resident informed the deputies, ‘Yes, I’m tidying up. I can bring out the teenager to show he’s being looked after,'” authorities relayed to WJXT, an independent TV station based in Jacksonville. “The teenager emerged, spoke to the deputies, and confirmed everything was alright. There were no apparent concerns.”
Then came another call – this time with evidence, deputies say.
Law enforcement made the trek back, this time on allegations of animal neglect, according to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime.
While inside, the boy revealed to the deputies that he had control of the situation and had been on his own since July 21 because his mother had gone to Las Vegas, as reported.
The minor further alleged he was “not given the proper necessities to survive” and had to rely on others to bring him food, the report claims.
The deputy goes on to write that they requested to view the inside of the residence. The minor allegedly warned the deputy that there was “poop everywhere” from the family’s seven dogs.
The dogs’ names are Onyx, Hera, Big Boy, Faye, Bella, and Kitty, deputies noted. Their breeds are identified as two pit bull mixes, a Lab/Mastiff, two chihuahuas and a Chiweenie, respectively. The seventh dog, Chase, is a black mouth cur.
“Entering the front door of the residence I was met by multiple dogs in various poor conditions as well as the smell of feces and urine,” the report reads. “In the living room I observed all walking areas to the other bedrooms encased in a thick layer of brown/white matter identified as animal feces. On the floor, I observed multiple crockpot bowls filled with water with unknown insects floating and flying around the surface.”
The charging document goes on to describe various states of filth and disrepair inside the residence – alleging on multiple occasions that the dogs were confined in a room with feces roughly four inches thick.
When asked by the deputy how long the house had been in such condition, the woman’s son allegedly said it had been that way for years because “this is the way Jessica keeps the house and refuses to clean,” according to the arrest report.
Some of the dogs were emaciated or “extremely emaciated,” while others lacked access to “the correct food and water,” the report says.
Copeland is currently detained in the Putnam County Jail on $25,000 bond, court records show. On Tuesday, she was appointed a public defender, and a no-contact order was issued in her case.
