Scott County family members face child endangerment, drug charges

BENTON, Mo. -- Four Scott County family members face charges of endangering the welfare of a child and other criminal complaints after deputies found children in a filthy, dilapidated home, according to a Scott County Sheriff's Department news release.

Three family members -- Zachary Richardson, 26, Tammy Richardson, 51, and James Richardson, 48, all of rural Benton -- were charged with two felony counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, three felony drug possession charges, two misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charges and one misdemeanor count of marijuana possession.

James Richardson

Linsday Cobbins

Lindsay Cobbins, 24, of Sikeston, Mo., was charged with two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

According to the news release, police searched Zachary Richardson's home near Benton after they found drug paraphernalia in a car he was riding in. The car was stopped after a local business reported two men acting suspiciously, the release said.

Inside the house deputies found no running water, exposed electrical wires and trash, spoiled food and feces scattered throughout the home, the release said. Investigators found paraphernalia with methamphetamine and marijuana residue and prescription bottles with removed labels or labels not prescribed to the home's residence, the sheriff's department reported.

Two small children lived in the home, according to the release. The children were placed in homes of other family members, the sheriff's department reported.

All four suspects were in the Scott County Jail on Wednesday on varying bond amounts.

Pertinent address:

Benton, Mo.