The child neglect charges against a Louisa County couple were certified at a preliminary hearing yesterday in Louisa Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Authorities charged the couple in April after their two sons--16 months old and 3 years old--tested positive for cocaine.
Brenda Darice Quarles, 26, and Derrick Andre Christmas, 25, were each charged with two counts of felony child neglect. A grand jury will hear the evidence in the case Sept. 8.
Testimony yesterday showed that Quarles' sister, Sharon Hughes, was baby-sitting the boys the morning of April 16 after Quarles left for a hair appointment about 7:30.
Hughes later called her sister to say she was taking the children to the doctor because they were acting strangely.
They tested positively for cocaine and prescription drugs later in the day.
Prosecutor Rusty McGuire argued that the cocaine in the children's system was evidence of disregard for the children's life. He also said the condition of the couple's home, which they shared with some of Quarles' family members, was an example of neglect of the children.
He showed pictures of a five gallon bucket with a toilet seat on it, which was used because there was no running water in the house, he said.
Other pictures showed trash strewn about and the front of the house, which he referred to as a "junkyard."
That evidence turned out to be at least part of what persuaded Judge Susan Whitlock to certify the charges.
"It is one of absolute filth," Whitlock said of the house.
But Whitlock would not permit documentation of positive cocaine testing into evidence.
Dr. Julia Whiting was the first doctor to see the boys April 16. She said yesterday that when the boys arrived at her office, they were in an "altered mental status."
Whiting told Whitlock that she gave the boys toxicology tests, which came back positive for cocaine and benzodiazepine (drugs such as Valium and Xanax fall in this category).
She said, however, that there was no way to tell the quantity in their systems through her test.
A registered nurse from Martha Jefferson Hospital, as well as the technician in charge of urine testing for drugs, both testified that once at the hospital, the boys tested positive for the same drugs.
Christmas' attorney Jack Maus and Quarles' attorney Stephen Harris argued that there was no evidence to show the tests weren't tampered with by someone at the hospital because there was no proof as to the chain of custody of the urine samples.
Whitlock said she agreed that the test results could not be permitted.
Ultimately, though, she certified the neglect charges because of the condition of the house as well as verbal testimony, she said.
Christmas already had charges of possession with intent to distribute both cocaine and marijuana certified to circuit court. Those charges came when he was searched at the couple's home April 17.
Evidence presented yesterday stated that he had 19 grams of crack cocaine in his pocket when authorities came to search the home.
McGuire said yesterday in court that he thought the cocaine entered the children's system when Christmas was cooking the cocaine to turn it into crack, but evidence to support that had not been presented yet.
Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424
Email: ebiltz@freelancestar.com