Peoria parents arrested after children found unattended, dirty, infested with bugs

PEORIA, AZ - Two children were taken into custody and their parents arrested after Peoria Police responded to a call from an apartment complex where the children were unattended.

According to court documents, the incident occurred Monday just before 5 p.m. at the Sonoma Place Apartments in Peoria.

The caller, also the apartment manager, told police that there were two children left unattended and that they were in poor health.

Police found the kids, 3 and 4 years of age, at the front office after an apartment resident noticed them unsupervised outside for over half an hour.

Documents state that the 4-year-old girl had lice in her hair, bugs crawling over her body and had scabs covering her forearms.

Both of the children were extremely dirty and responding police say that the children could be smelled from over five feet away.

The children had also complained that they were thirsty and hungry while they were unattended and also stated alleged abuse from their father.

Parents Angel Ortiz, 24, and Maribel Colmenero, 28, eventually arrived at the office after more than an hour.

They admitted to not showering the children in at least three days.

The parents said they took a nap and didn’t realize the children had left the residence.

Police found the apartment in poor condition with a strong odor, prescription medicine lying in the open doorway, an open glass bottle of alcohol on the counter and bugs inside.

The apartment complex has an open gate near a major doorway and gated pool near where the children were found that could have put them in danger.

Child Protective Services were dispatched to take the kids into custody.

Ortiz and Colmenero were arrested and are facing two counts of child abuse each.