Charleroi woman waives hearing; husband arrested
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The Charleroi woman accused earlier this month by Charleroi Regional police of allowing her six children to live in a cockroach-infested home waived her case to court Thursday as officers took her husband into custody.
Brooke Dills, 34, of 730 Lookout Ave., was arrested earlier this month after Washington County Children and Youth Services removed her six children from the home and placed them in foster care.
She waived a hearing before District Judge Larry Hopkins on six counts each of endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment, in addition to five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
She also waived a hearing on another six counts of endangering the welfare of children filed last month by police after they said they found her children living in deplorable conditions June 19.
Her husband, Robert Dills, 37, was taken into custody Thursday on six counts each of endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment stemming from the incident earlier this month.
He was placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond.
He also was charged last month by police with six counts of child endangerment in connection with the June 19 call.
Police were called to the Dills home July 2 for a report of screaming and fighting. Once inside the house, police said they noticed cockroaches in several rooms, a filthy bathroom and the children with dirty feet and clothing. The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 12, were removed from the home.
Also found in the house were empty heroin stamp bags and pills, police said.
Robert Dills is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on both sets of charges before Hopkins Thursday.
Brooke Dills’ bond was changed to a $52,500 unsecured bond. Police Chief Eric Porter said Friday she will work with CYS so her children can be returned. She is scheduled for formal arraignment Sept. 24.
Both were cited by the borough’s code enforcement officer for failing to maintain their property by allowing garbage to accumulate. A summary trial on that charge is set for July 28 before Hopkins.