Police say the responded to a home on East Oak Street around 6 p.m. Tuesday after a child ran to a neighbor's house and said they were being abused.
According to police, the child's wrists were red and he told the neighbor that "they" locked him in his room, boarded up the windows, and tied him to the bed to hit him. Police say they had also been to same address about two hours earlier for the same child being locked out of the house with no shelter from the sun or heat.
When officers arrived at the home, they say they knocked on the door. After several minutes, police say 38-year-old Stephanie Dicks answered the door, stepped outside, and closed the door behind her.
Police say Dicks told them that her son had left the home without permission. Officers say she was "very hesitant" to let them check the bedroom, which officers explained they wanted to do just to "make sure there weren't nails in the door or rope tied to the bed."
The EPD officers say 31-year-old Shawn Miller came to the door to speak, but that he only opened the door partially and was "evasive" to their questions. They say Miller refused to let them inside.
While speaking with Miller, other officers were checking the child for any injuries. They say they found "severe bruising" on his wrists and that he said the bruising was caused by Miller.
Officers say they stepped into the home and told Miller to put his hands behind his back because they had probable cause. They say Miller pulled away and shoved an officer, and that Dicks jumped in between Miller and the officer, interfering with the arrest.
Police say Miller and Dicks were trying to push the officer out of the house, and that a stun gun was used on Miller.
You must be logged in to see or use the Shoutbox. Besides, if you haven't registered, you really should. It's quick and it will make your life a little better. Trust me. So just register and make yourself at home with like-minded individuals who share either your morbid curiousity or sense of gallows humor.
