North Strabane police charge pair with child endangerment
Heather Cain
A Clarksville couple were arrested Thursday by North Strabane Township police on charges including endangering the welfare of children and drug possession after officers were called to a hotel for a report of a child crying and possible drug activity.
Derick Knox
Heather Lynn Cain, 34, and Derick Knox, 33, both of 45 Pitt St., were taken into custody at Comfort Inn on Meadowlands Boulevard just before 7 a.m. Knox was found in the parking lot with the child in a vehicle while Cain was found in a room. The 2-year-old girl was wearing only a diaper and was shivering.
When police asked Cain for her identification, she said she had none and gave her name as Heather Knox. She also was not able to provide the last four digits of her Social Security number. Officer Daniel O’Leary then spotted a birth certificate in her purse with her name on it, which was confirmed with a portable fingerprint scanner.
Hotel employees said the girl had been screaming and crying for several hours and had vomited several times. No clothes, food, diapers or toys were found in the room. Cain told police the last time the girl had eaten was lunch Wednesday. Hotel employees reportedly found drug paraphernalia in the room that would have been accessible to the girl. A caseworker for Washington County Children and Youth Services took custody of the toddler.
This is the second time Cain has been charged with child endangerment this year. State police also charged her with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment and traffic violations stemming from a Jan. 31 traffic stop on Interstate 79 in South Strabane Township. She was ordered held for court on the charges after failing to show up for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Jay Weller and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest. Cain is scheduled for formal arraignment on those charges Monday.
Cain and Knox were arraigned before Weller Thursday on charges of endangering the welfare of children and possession of suboxone and paraphernalia.
Cain is also charged with false identification to police. Knox is charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance. Both were placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond. They are scheduled for a May 21 preliminary hearing before Weller.