Police remove 20 children, 18 dogs and two dead canines from 'uninhabitable' home

  • Five women have been arrested and charged with abuse and drug offenses after a bust at 'uninhabitable' home in California
  • Police say 20 children, 18 dogs, and two dead canines were found inside
  • Home had no water, gas, or electricity, and was covered in black mold
  • Neighbors say some of the women lived in cars outside, used flashlights to walk around at night, and cooked on barbecues in the yard 

By Chris Pleasance For Dailymail.com

Published: 00:47 EST, 3 September 2016 | Updated: 01:19 EST, 3 September 2016

Police have removed 20 children, 18 dogs and two canine corpses from an 'uninhabitable' property in California.

Cops say the home, several miles north of San Bernardino, had no running water, gas or electricity, and was 'completely filthy'.

The children, who range in age from two months to 17 years, were described as barefoot and dirty, and were playing unsupervised in the road when cops arrived.

Police removed 20 children, 18 dogs, and two canine corpses from this property just north of San Bernardino, in California, on Friday

Police removed 20 children, 18 dogs, and two canine corpses from this property just north of San Bernardino, in California, on Friday

Cops say the home was without running water, gas or electricity, the walls and floors were in a state of disrepair and the whole hose was covered in black mold

Cops say the home was without running water, gas or electricity, the walls and floors were in a state of disrepair and the whole hose was covered in black mold

Five women were also arrested for child cruelty and drug offenses, police said.

In a statement to CBS Los Angeles, police said there was not enough food for the people living there, that the home was in disrepair, and covered in black mold.

The property has since been condemned by local authorities.

Neighbors said they have been complaining about the home for months after seeing people sleeping in cars on the property with windows covered by blankets.

Others said they could tell the house had no power because the women walked around with flashlights at night and cooked on barbecues in the yard.

Five women, believed to be mothers of the children and at least one grandmother, were arrested for abuse and drug offenses, while the home has been condemned

Five women, believed to be mothers of the children and at least one grandmother, were arrested for abuse and drug offenses, while the home has been condemned

Neighbors say some of the women were living in cars at the home with blankets over the windows, and that they would cook on barbecues in the back yard

Neighbors say some of the women were living in cars at the home with blankets over the windows, and that they would cook on barbecues in the back yard

One woman who passed by the property each day on her way to work thought the house was actually a farm.

Andrea Fujii said: 'The kids would go up to the liquor store and ask for money and ask for food. They'd come home with chips and sodas.'

The women arrested are believed to be the mothers of the children, along with at least one grandmother.

The animals have since been turned over to a shelter. 

Comments (32)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now