Written by: E. George
Published September 15, 2023 @ 8:40 PM ET
FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. – A 47-year-old Rome woman was arrested on August 28, 2023, when law enforcement responded to her home due to social workers’ and a school resource officer’s concerns and discovered the residence in deplorable and unsuitable living conditions. Floyd County Police officers met with animal control personnel at the West Center Road home to conduct an inspection.
Upon arrival, they observed Alenea Nicole Reaves, the mother of two juveniles, ages 12 and 15, sitting in her vehicle in the driveway. The police officer noted one dog tied up in the front yard and a myriad of dogs within a fenced area in the back yard.
On the rear lawn, she saw “an animal jaw bone lying partially under some debris.” She entered the home and immediately noticed the clutter, grime, and garbage.
Reaves’ room consisted of a bed stripped of linens and two disheveled dressers. The floor, which contained a cable with exposed wires, was dirty and covered with trash, clothing, dishes, and other items.
A makeshift door led to a child’s room, where another linen-less bed sat with a dirty and stained mattress. The floor was littered with items, including trash, clothing, dishes, and shoes.
She spotted “roaches crawling in and on the clothing and other items on the floor.” The living room had a stack of broken furniture pieces and exposed wiring in several places, and there were numerous trash bags, debris, and dried feces on the floor.
She noticed a swarm of flies around the couch and suspected a possible dead animal inside. Roaches crawled all around her, in every room.
The kitchen contained a non-working stove stuffed with dishes and trash, and the floor was covered in trash, trash bags, and old food. She found roaches outside and inside the grimy refrigerator.
She saw trash, dirty dishes, and old food scattered across the kitchen counters and sink. The floor of the laundry room was not visible due to the piles of clothing, and there were more clothes inside and on top of the washer and dryer.
One needed to “walk on top of the mounds of clothing” to enter the bathroom, and the floor and counter mimicked the rest of the home. Another bedroom was draped with “dirty, thick cobwebs on every wall, on the ceiling, and attached to furniture, which suggested [the officer noted] that nothing had been cleaned in quite some time. The entire house is in complete disarray and filth,” she said.
Outside the home, she saw “a broken sewage pipe with sewage saturating the ground around it,” and the area that housed 10 dogs was “covered with dishes, trash, and other debris.” The animal control officers took possession of the dogs.
Reaves named her cousin to care for her two children temporarily. The officer handcuffed and transported her to the Floyd County Jail, where she was charged with two counts of first-degree child cruelty – deprivation of necessary sustenance. This case is pending in court.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On the above date and time and per suggestion of Model Schools school resource officer Ginger Shelly, myself and animal control officers went to [10 BLOCK] W. Center Rd to speak with Alenea Reaves, mother of [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (12yoa) and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (15yoa). I was advised by Ofc G. Shelly of the family and concerns of their home due to their involvement with the children. The social workers that have visited the home nd were concerned about the living conditions.
Upon arrival, I observed a dog tied up out in the front yard as well as numerous dogs fenced to the rear of the home. Reaves was in her car in the driveway and spoke with A.C.O. at this time. I was looking around out back where the dogs are being kept and observed an animal jaw bone laying partially under some debris.
I went inside the home to check on the A.C.O. while he was talking to Reaves and observed concerning living conditions. Immediately upon entering through the front door is Reaves’s room. It contains a bed stripped of linens, a recliner and two disheveled dressers. The floor is dirty and covered with furniture, clothing, dishes, trash and other items. There is a cable in the floor with exposed wires.
There is a makeshift door in the same area that leads into [REDACTED BY AGENCY] room. Inside [REDACTED BY AGENCY] room sits a bed stripped of linens. The mattresses are dirty and stained. The floors are almost completely covered with clothing, trash, shoes, dishes, and other miscellaneous items. There were roaches crawling in and on the clothing and other items in the floor.
As soon as you leave [REDACTED BY AGENCY] room you enter into the living room. The living room contains several pieces of broken furniture piled on top of each other, numerous full trash bags, trash on the floors along with dried feces on the floor. There are shelving units scattered with trash and other debris. There was a swarm of flies around the couch, right above one particular area suggesting there may be a dead animal inside. There were roaches all over the living room as well as the others. There is exposed wiring in several places in the living room.
The kitchen is in the same state as the other rooms and is infested with roaches as well. The floors are dirty and covered in trash, full trash bags, boxes of old food items sitting on the floor. The stove does not appear to be in working order and has dishes and trash stuffed in the area that is supposed to be housing the warming drawer.
The fridge has roaches inside and out. The inside of the fridge has one side full of groceries that have been thrown in and stacked up on top of each in no kind of order. There are plastic containers of food that are turned upside down and smashed, there are items that require cold temperatures however that side of the fridge is barely lukewarm. The floor of the fridge is brown with dirt or dirty substances.
The kitchen counter and sink area are completely covered with trash, old food and dirty dishes. There are shelves of canned foods in the kitchen. There is a room just past the kitchen with so many clothing items piled up that the floor is not visible. There is a washer and dryer. but unsure if they work. The is clothing inside and on top of the washer and dryer.
There is the one and only bathroom just off this room, however you have to walk on top of the mounds of clothing in order to use it. The bathroom floor and counter is covered with the same type of items that cover every other surface in the home.
According to Reaves, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] sleeps in the bedroom on the far side of the living room. The floor of this bedroom is covered in items such as clothing, picture frames, lamps, shoes, garbage, broken glass, suitcases, and other items. There are dirty, thick cobwebs on every wall, on the ceilings and attached to furniture which suggests to me that nothing has been cleaned in quite some time. The entire house is in complete disarray and filthy.
Outside the home there is, what appears to be, a broken sewage pipe with sewage saturating the ground around it. There were approximately 10 dogs being housed outside within a chain link fenced in area however the area they were in was covered with dishes, trash and other debris. Animal Control took the animals after Reaves agreed to surrender them.
I spoke with the DFCS intake worker before placing Reaves in handcuffs and provided her with all the necessary information to complete a referral. Reaves gave the name of her cousin, [REDACTED], that could temporarily care for her children. I then transported her to the Floyd County Jail for booking.
I have included a subject matching the name of the [REDACTED] subject in the report, however I am unsure if that is the same person.
After speaking with Model Middle School social worker, [REDACTED], I learned that DFCS had screened the case out based on Reaves providing a potential caregiver. I spoke with SRO G. Shelly who advised me that the [REDACTED] subject will no longer be the caregiver, it will be another relative by the name of [REDACTED].
Capt. Bohannon placed Reaves in the backseat of his patrol car and transported her to the Floyd County Jail.
handcuffs checked for fit and double locked for safety
[End of Narrative]