BUCKHANNON – The parents of a three-year-old toddler were arrested Saturday for child neglect after several 911 calls were placed in one day regarding their behavior.
Bobbie R. Nixon, 30, and Allen J. Nuttle, 45, both of Buckhannon, were each arrested on one count of child neglect creating a risk of serious injury, a felony.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Sgt. Marshall O’Connor with the Buckhannon Police Department, on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, officers with the Buckhannon Police Department responded to a Cleveland Avenue residence for a removal of an unwanted person.
The file says that when police arrived on scene, officers spoke with Bobbie Nixon, the child’s mother, who advised that her boyfriend, Allen Nuttle, the child’s father, had reportedly kept her up all night and due to that, the two began arguing.
While officers were on scene, Nuttle contacted Nixon and stated that would like to speak with law enforcement officers to give his side of the story. O’Connor went to speak with Nuttle, who reportedly told police Nixon kept him up all night and that “when she is off her [psychiatric] medicine, she begins to behave in the manner police officers witnessed,” O’Connor wrote in the report.
Law enforcement officers subsequently provided Nuttle with a phone number he could use to secure help for Nixon.
Then, approximately three hours and 15 minutes later, officers received a second 911 call related to this incident. This 911 call came from a witness who advised that Nixon had taken her and Nuttle’s three-year-old child to another residence on Cleveland Avenue, the police report says.
The 911 caller also said that Nixon had allegedly informed her and her son that the three-year-old was “up for adoption” and proceeded to ask the caller’s son to adopt the child, according to the complaint. According to the report, the caller’s son said no, and Nixon then “said goodbye and left.” At this point, the caller dialed 911 and contacted Child Protective Services.
Then, about 52 minutes after the second 911 call, a third 911 call was placed. This call was to inform police and first responders that Nuttle, the child’s father, was allegedly found in his residence “slumped over, in a chair and unable to wake,” the police report says. Upshur County EMS and the Buckhannon Fire Department responded to provide aid to Nuttle, and after Nuttle was woken up, EMS checked his vital signs and asked him to go to the hospital.
However, Nuttle refused.
During this incident, O’Connor spoke with Nuttle, who allegedly appeared to be intoxicated and was unable to comprehend what O’Connor was attempting to explain to him. O’Connor then left the residence to assist BPD officer Patrolman First Class Angel McCauley with the child. A witness had advised police that Nuttle allegedly “slapped Nixon in the face with a diaper that was filled with feces,” the criminal complaint states.
Moreover, officers saw photographs that showed Nixon with “a brown substance smeared across the right side of her face and in her hair,” according to the file.
Approximately 25 minutes later, O’Connor returned to arrest Nuttle who was unable to tell law enforcement where his child was and still couldn’t understand what police were trying to explain to him. Shortly after, Nixon was found sitting on the side of Reynolds Lane, allegedly wearing only a T-shirt and holding a book. Nixon was also taken into custody.
Officers obtained search warrants to determine the level of controlled substances and/or alcohol in both parents’ systems because Nixon and Nuttle seemed to be incapable of caring for their toddler.
Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis set bail at $25,000 cash or surety for both Nixon and Nuttle.
The potential penalty for a conviction of child neglect creating risk of serious injury is confinement in a state penitentiary for not less than one nor more than five years, a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000, or both.
