A 28-year-old Indian Hills woman accused of caring for her three young children in deplorable conditions was charged Friday with illegal possession of three credit cards.
East Fork Justice Pro Tem Paul Gilbert refused to lower a $25,000 bail for Melissa Howell who was jailed Wednesday after officers found her passed out at 2:30 p.m. in a bedroom leaving her children ages 5, 2 and 1 unsupervised.
The residence, in the 3500 block of Vista Grande, was littered with dirty dishes, clothing, empty bottles of alcohol, and open beer cans.
Cigarette butts, feces, food and other debris covered the carpets throughout the residence, including the children's bedrooms.
The bathroom sink was clogged with water and feces, according to investigators. The bathtub was filled with clothes.
After deputies awoke Howell, she gave permission to search the residence and they found the credit cards under a mattress.
She told deputies she'd had "a little too much to drink," according to reports.
She was charged with possession of credit cards without the cardholders' consent, a felony, and child endangerment, a gross misdemeanor.
The children were placed in the care of Child Protective Services.
Prosecutor Erik Levin asked Gilbert not to lower her bail.
"The allegations are pretty severe," Levin said. "Lowering bail would be a mistake. The environment she's in (jail) is better than the one she left for her children."
Gilbert appointed attorney Kris Brown to represent Howell after she said she was unemployed. She told Gilbert she lived in subsidized housing but had to be out by Feb. 8.
Her next court appearance is Wednesday.
