Pensacola, FL (The Weekly Vice) – Donna Powell, 40, was arrested Monday when authorities discovered one of her abandoned children living in a shed on the property of her ex-boyfriend, Jerry “Tom” Gray.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s office received a call from Gray’s father regarding the teen that was residing in the virtually uninhabitable shed.
Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered a hungry, upset 17-year-old who had been left there when his mother moved out. Her other son, 13, had also been abandoned but was living inside the residence.
Authorities say Gray’s father contacted them on September 8th stating that he wanted the teenager off of his property. Deputies responded to the complaint and found the teenager living inside a shed with no electricity, running water, air conditioning, or heat.
The teen told officers that he had been living in the shed for approximately one month because he did not get along with her mother’s ex-boyfriend. He could not remember when his last meal was and authorities described him as “visibly upset,” claiming that he wanted to be where his mother was.
Investigators were not immediately able to locate Powell, and both children were turned over to their grandmother Patricia Monroe, who is Powell’s mother.
Powell was booked in to Escambia County Jail and charged with felony child neglect. She was released on $25,000 bond.
Rebecca Diamond
The Weekly Vice
www.theweeklyvice.com
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12 comments:
So... I take it this "kid" was like mentally retarded or something? I mean, 17?!?! And he's not smart enough to go get food? I moved out of my dad's when I was 17-to my own apartment that I paid for with the money I made WORKING... De-evolution is such a sad thing...
CDXX,
Yes, but your parents most likely exposed you to responsibility and might have even taught you how to take care of yourself.
Do you think for a moment this woman gave her kids the attention your parents gave you?
We have a whole generation of teens who are growing up with zero life skills...
Everything is instant for kids these days. If they want it, they want it now... and many of them get what they want, never learning how to earn something.
Welcome to the "gimme" generation.
It’s time for this boy to grow up. He no longer has any choice but to.
Hope the boy grows up. Probably mad at the mothers boyfriend from making him pickup after himself. or telling him to get a job.
Second comment is it took a month to report the boy to the police!!!!
despite her tendency to leave kids in wooded shacks...i'd hit that
Hey, CDXX, why would you call this kid "retarded?" What is it he did to indicate that? Maybe you have firsthand knowledge that wasn't provided in the article.
And you know, I just can't come down on this kid and say he needs to "grow up" and "get a job", either.
Seems to me the only parent he ever knew made his life a pretty miserable existence. She sounds like one of the growing breed who allow their boyfriends to take precedent over their own flesh and blood. I don't blame him a bit for wanting to steer clear of him, how many cases have we seen on WV where the boyfriend kills the mother's kid(s)? Plenty. God knows what this kid's had to endure at the hands of God-knows-how-many "boyfriends."
So when this boy was 16, when his peers were doing things like getting their licenses and their first tastes of freedom, he's put into a shed with no electricity or running water. Then he's abandoned by the one person he should be able to trust, his own mother. And the POS who owned the house didn't give a rip about what became of him, he just wanted him "out." Nice.
You know, it broke my heart that all he could say was he wanted to "be where [his mom] was." Regardless of how badly he was treated, he still had a fierce loyalty to this joke of a mother.
I have four teenagers (13-19) and I can tell you that no matter how trying times are, and no matter how much I feel for some boyfriend, nothing could drive me to decide one of them deserved to be stuck in a shed while I shacked up with a man (ANY man, let alone some POS like this one.)
No way should we be blaming this kid for his situation. Blame needs to be put squarely where it belongs: on his so-called mother.
I sincerely hope that someone in his family takes it upon themselves to show this young man a sense of security and the love he's never gotten from his mother.
I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling he doesn't stand a chance.
"no electricity, running water, air conditioning, or heat."
She tricked him and told him he was at 'summer camp'.
@WalkenFan
My mom was an alcoholic and my dad was at work all the time paying for all the cars my mom totaled and the house she took from him in the divorce. I taught myself how to survive. It wasn't really that hard, just natural instinct... And I didn't say he was mentally retarded, I was asking if he was, because I cannot fathom why a normal 16 or 17 year old boy would live in those conditions, unless it was his own choice. I think the step dad said "It's time to get a job," and the kid said "F-u, I'm gunna go live in the shed where I can have all my friends come over and we can drink and do drugs and I don't have to work."(I had a friend that did this, and we drank and did drugs and had a good 'ole time) Then when the cops showed up for the complaint, the kid blamed it all on the boyfriend. It was wrong for the mother to abandon them, but I think there is more to the story...
@Ida
That is hilarious!
Cddx- are we supposed to be impressed with you because you lived on your own? I actually have zero respect for you, because despite your (purported) experiences, you have no empathy for your fellow human beings. You have no idea what this kid has gone through. There is certainly no way you can "know" he gave the mother's boyfriend a hard time or refused to get a job. All we know is that his mom is a cold-hearted neglectful bitch who has abandoned him and probably given him a lifetime of mental issues. Please try to remember that the more you brag about yourself and build yourself up to other people, the more you are indicating a deep insecurity, which would be sad if you didn't come across as such a jerk.
Mom failed, period. As I understand it until you reach the age of 18, you are supposed to have a guardian. I am not saying I know that this kid did nothing wrong.
I'm just saying as a mother, the law says she is responsible.
CDXX, I understand that life experience gives you a certain point of view. I left home young as well. Now my brother, on the other hand, stayed. He didn't have that survival instinct. And at nearly thirty years old, he is still there. Some people can survive, some people can't.
@ Allison
Like I said, de-evolution is a bitch... Did you actually read my statement? You are putting words in my mouth that never came out. At no point in my statement did I say that I "know" anything about what REALLY happened. I mean, you put it in quotes like I said it... I just produced a theory on what could have happened. Like I said, I do not know. I was not there. I care not for your respect, as I do not care for ignorant people. King Tut became a Pharaoh at the age of 9. Apparently, as historians have discovered, this was not uncommon. Many Pharaohs were of a young age when they started ruling their nations. All I said was that I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND why a seventeen year old BOY couldn't handle his own. A thousand years ago, hell even 150 years ago, this teenager would already be dead from incompetence. Quit f-ing trolling.
@CarpeDM
Thank you for putting this a bit more into perspective for me. I am glad that you understood what I was saying. Also, I like the name. I'm a big fan of Horace.
I don't believe? how is this possible? how a mother can do this with their child?
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