CLEARFIELD – A Beccaria couple charged with endangering the welfare of a child waived their rights to preliminary hearings on Wednesday.
James R. Spencer and Billi Joann Johns both face a count of endangering the welfare of children.
According to court records, a 14-year-old went to the Spencer/Johns residence on Sept. 14. The girl told police that she knocked on the door several times before a three-year-old girl answered. The younger girl told the older girl that her parents were sleeping. The older girl went inside and checked them. She told police that the two were unresponsive. She told police that the little girl hit Spencer with a toy, but that he still did not wake up.
The older girl took the younger girl to a nearby residence. Later that day a state trooper responded and spoke with Spencer and Johns. The trooper said that Spencer was passed out. When the trooper woke Spencer up and asked him where his child was, Spencer reportedly told the trooper she was with her mother. The trooper found Johns sleeping in her bedroom. When the trooper asked Johns where he daughter was, Johns reportedly told him the girl was with her father.
The trooper reported that at one point Johns said she was tired because it was early in the morning. The trooper told her it was 7 p.m. The trooper also informed the couple that their child was with a neighbor.
The trooper’s report also indicated that Children, Youth and Family Services had removed the girl from her parents custody due to unfit living conditions. Custody of the girl was handed back over to them after they cleaned their residence to acceptable conditions.
Both remain in Clearfield County Jail.