CORRECTION: The original release from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office indicated that the property was located in Woodbine; however, it is actually located in Belleplain, which is a part of Dennis Township.
BELLEPLAIN – Two residents were arrested on Sunday, Jan. 21, and charged with endangering the welfare of a child after police visited a property to perform a wellness check and found the house without heat or a functioning shower or toilet, and with the inside and outside strewn with garbage.
According to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police arrested Kevin A. Storms, 35, and Wanda S. Storms, 64, after an investigation at the Marcellaro Road residence. An officer arrived at the home and found a child living at the residence, which was “in a state of deplorable conditions,” the press release said. A joint investigation was then initiated by the New Jersey State Police Woodbine Barracks and the Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit.
The affidavit of probable cause said a state trooper visited the Marcellaro Road residence for a well-being check and had a conversation with Wanda Storms. The trooper said in his report that he found the house to be in a “deplorable condition for housing a child.”
Storms told the trooper the house was in that condition due to a dispute with the landlord. The trooper wrote in his report that the house was cluttered with garbage, and there was no heat, fuel or hot water. The toilet and shower were not working.
The trooper wrote that he observed some of the living spaces to be “confined and unhealthy” due to no upkeep. He obtained consent to enter the house and recorded pictures of the inside using his body-worn camera. The trooper noted that he contacted the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, which responded to the residence.
The report said Kevin Storms is the father of the child, a 5-year-old girl. Division of Child Protection officials asked Storms to appear with the child at the Child Advocacy Center, where the girl was interviewed by someone from the Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the report, “(The girl) stated that her father’s house was gross, spiders and flies crawl on her while she sleeps, and that she cannot take a shower or go to the bathroom at the house.” The report said both Kevin and Wanda Storms acknowledged that the living conditions were unacceptable for a 5-year-old child.
As a result of the Jan. 21 investigation, Kevin and Wanda Storms were arrested and each charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Both were released on a summons, pending court proceedings.
County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland said persons convicted of a second-degree crime are subject to a prison term of five to 10 years.
Sutherland said the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone who might have additional information to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 609-465-1135, anonymously through the Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips, the Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net (click on anonymous tip), or the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889- 3597.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.