The Antelope Valley Times

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Children found in filth, father arrested

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LAKE LOS ANGELES – Four children under age 5 were removed from a filthy Lake Los Angeles home on Saturday and their father was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, authorities said.

Alejandro Vargas, 31, was arrested around 10:10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, after deputies responded to a residence at 39304 167th Street East, according to a news release from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.

Deputies were called to the home after a passerby spotted a partially clothed 2-month-old girl in a car seat in the front yard, sheriff’s officials said.

“The passerby attempted to contact the parents at the location for a least 20 minutes. Due to the very cold temperatures, the passerby covered the infant in a blanket and took the infant to a nearby residence,” the news release states.

When deputies arrived, they found three other children — ages 1, 3, and 4 —  inside the home, according to the news release.

“The deputies at the scene saw a large infestation of cockroaches throughout the residence. Animal feces was also seen on the floor in several of the rooms,” the news release states.

The children were transported to Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, and the Department of Child Services ultimately took custody of the children.   

Vargas was detained inside the residence and then transported to Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, where he was booked in lieu of $100,000 bail.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

65 comments for "Children found in filth, father arrested"

  1. Sandra must have something to do with this story lol. Or she put her kids in a similar situation. No matter the circumstance how can you forget a child outside no matter what age. That family needs help, and everyone hopes that what happens it is in the best interest of the children.

  2. There are so many types of Birth control free, sadly many families wanting children, and not to mention safe drop off site for babies no questions asked. It’s pathetic that someone would do that to a baby. I would of put that baby in the car and waited for the police to arrive. No sympathy for the mother either, she knew him well enough to have four children back to back. She should of denied the visit. That is so unacceptable. I raised three children alone it wasn’t easy and I was far from perfect but I always tried to do what was in the best interest of my children. Maybe there should be a limit of children a couple are allowed to have if they don’t have means to care for them.

    • Your lump assumption of the offender’s citizenship is very ignorant. No information stated anything about that. This guys is a dead beat dad with four kids he couldn’t take care of and looked for a way out.

      • Jason you are pathetic and a racist pos people like you make me sick to my stomach . I feel sorry for you because there is no doubt in my mind you had some evil ass parents who lived a life of hate and probaby belonged to the kkk they are no better than these distgusting pos so called parents that did this horrible thing to these precious babys because clearly they raised you to live a life full of hate and racism . I see plenty of white black brown pos of all color that are in the newspaper who do these terrible things to their children.. Its not just ilegals. So if you hate illegals so dam much then maybe you should take your ilegal ass back to where you are from because this country belonged to the natives this post isnt even about rasim ilegals , its about jakasses liken yourself who arnt taking care of their resonsabilitys as parents smh a Always some idiot trying to bring race into things must be a trump supporter smh

    • Guess what? I just had to call police on dead beat white squaters on a duplex they keep breaking in while we are fixing, red neck white trash wanted to give me food stamps scared i would have them arrested

      • Doubt they were rednecks. Most rednecks work, that is how they get the rednecks, that and partying in the sun doing active sports.
        Now tweakers, that is a whole different category of white trash. Often lazy but just ambitious enough to break and enter. Often taking things apart to sell the parts, or just to see how it works.
        Sounds like you had tweaker squatters.

  4. in the future, people will have to have a permit to have a baby.. heck I cant even have my say here without getting past moderation filter..

  5. I am curious how many of the people commenting are foster parents ? If not maybe you should think about it as their is some many children in need ….

  6. There is just NO EXCUSE for these poor little kids living like this or being neglected. NO DOUBT WELFARE RECEPIENTS ON DRUGS. AND THAT THE DAMN ANIMALS CAN STAY IN THE HOUSE BUT THE KIDS CAN’T. I RAISED 4 KIDS AS A SINGLE MOM & CARE, LOVE, & CLEANLINESS WAS NEVER AN ISSUE. Not that I am a great grandmother i still have as many as 12 to 20 little kids in my house from time to time. Still no neglect or filth.

    • Phyllis: Stop stereotyping. You have no idea what their circumstances are. Very few welfare recipients are drug users.

        • You know this how?

          I personally think this falls in the “legends that people who have no real information will almost always agree with each other about” category myself, but I have no real information either way myself.

          • A majority of the people living in Lake LA are on welfare and drugs. The meth has come back into the lake and it’s horrible. That being said if you live like this with young children and you are not on drugs then you are not fit to be a parent. I don’t care what your issues are children should not suffer because of the mental status, personal afflictions or bad choices of thier parents. To the person who said become a foster parent: anybody who has worked in the social services area out here in the AV would rather dig their eyeballs out then foster. The rules, regulations and requirements to pass an ASFA inspection alone are so ridiculous that the Rockefellers wouldn’t pass the first time around. Social Workers and DCFS have to much of a stronghold and power out here and can make parents, foster parents and relative foster parents jump through hoops like a trained seal at a carnival and then laugh while they deny you. And you can say it’s because of the kin-gap or foster funding but you can deny that and still be subject to their scrutiny, ridicule and denial. Obviously there needs to be a yearly ASFA inspection for welfare recipients along with monthly drug testing so that kids can be expected to live as good as foster kids. Just saying.

        • Yes I agree, that’s why they get it easy get paid by the government just to turn around and abuse the ” money” they get to buy drugs or alcohol…that’s why the ” benefits” they get are now on a card rather than ” stamps” , but still find a way to use them to buy alcohol, sad thing is some liquor stores allow it!!!!

  7. I notice how the article does not say the children were taken to a hospital. Why? because other then living in filth they were in good condition. It must be tough being so perfect.

    • well samdra, it must be ok for kids to live in filth, feces, and roaches and be left outside in a car seat..what kind of a person are you smh…

    • Wow , there was a reason they got taken, they were in filth, animal feces, I am sure a bath is by far the obvious, hospital would have been if they were physically or sexually abused, but at least pick up the crap!!! How awful and unhealthy to be living and breathing that crap in! Hope they weren’t eating it either!!!

  8. Yeah the passerby should be charged with kidnapping. Its said that 75 percent of the population is unplanned. What a bunch of mean spirited judgmental people. You dont even have all the facts. Look how you judge. I am sure there was depression involved here. Its DCFS job to fix the family so the children can be returned because no matter h-ow bad a parent is children always want to live with their parents. I see the article does not mention the mother. For all you know shes dead and he has been doing it all by himself. No one raises kids alone.When you dont have any support system is when things like this happen. Like I said what a bunch of judgmental mean spirited people. Its Christmas time folks and i am sure those kids want to be with their daddy no matter how dirty the house is.. Why dont you offer to go help him clean it up. No wait lets just tear a family apart because it sounds to me like you guys think being poor and overwhelmed is a crime.*

    • Wow , there was a reason they got taken, they were in filth, animal feces, I am sure a bath is by far the obvious, hospital would have been if they were physically or sexually abused, but at least pick up the crap!!! How awful and unhealthy to be living and breathing that crap in! Hope they weren’t eating it either!!!And Sandra, poor or not, single parent or not, still should clean up !! No excuses! I work full time, raise two kids, and still have the two seconds it takes to pick up dog crap if it was on my floor!!!! Which wouldn’t be cuz my dogs go outside! And i take the two seconds to let them out to relief themselves!

  9. Are there Coyotes in Lake Los Angeles? If so then that is another factor to be glad of that the child did not get bit or eaten, just the right size to be dinner. I am glad the children are safe.

    • I totally agree! I think if they are on welfare and not trying to better their lives maybe mandatory birth control should be a law. It’s not fair for a child to grow up in filth and squalor.

      • YEAH! Because those latchkey kids ignored by their overachiever parents always turn out SO well.

        Sorry Cathy, but appointing yourself or anyone else as the predictor of who will be a good parent is beyond your skill set…or anyone elses.

  11. I have three one in school. At times it does become a bit over whelming but i love my kids to death. I could never give up on me or my babies. This is when dcfs is doing there job

  13. sorry but i have 4 children I am a single working mother, yes its tiring yes its overwhelming but there is no way in hell!!! my kids would live in filth nor would i leave them outside, are you kidding me this infuriates me there is no excuse for this….

  14. Government pays you to have kids and have a minimal job to get huge tax refunds. 4 kids get $1000 each for child tax credit and over $5000 earned income credit. Too bad this won’t stop them from filing for this for 2016. We will all be supporting those kids until they are 18 in foster care system now. Hope kids end up with a loving family while they are young.

    • Whenever you want to try raising a kid on a HUGE thousand dollar tax refund I’ll gladly monitor the experiment. Bring your own kid.

      Or, you can recognize that you have no clue and just be glad you aren’t in those shoes.

    • The kids went with their mother after the arrest of the father, the ABC story gave more information than AV Times, the mother dropped the kids off that day ABC said, but then again you can’t believe everything in the news.

    • Did you really just say this? And in CAPS? The passerby should get an award for caring… and being smart enough to act. Your response is outrageous.

    • Really?! Lol… Under the circumstances and what he/she did … Thaat should be taken in minc only God knows how long that baby was out for and in Lake LA im sure it was cold and windier than out here in palmdale …. They should be awarded for being a good Samaritan! … But people are scared now to do any little good because of people like you who rather make a wrong out of everything. Kids life mist have just been saved to. But hey…. He “kidnapped ” ….Lord help us all with you!

    • Are you really that dumb??!! WOW you must be the passerby could have done nothing and all of the kids would still be in the horrid conditions

    • The passerby was told by 911 operator that it was ok to take the baby. It was out in the cold surrounded by dogs.

    • IGNORANCE AT ITS FINEST. .. WAS THE HERO WHO SAVED THESE KIDS FROM THIS SITUATION, GIVEN THANKS??? SAD STORY, I HOPE THINGS GET BETTER FOR THAT FAMILY. PRAYING FOR ALL…

  16. Do you have any idea how tired the parents must be? Do you know how much work a 2 month old and a one year old 3 and four year olds take. My God I cant imagine trying to take care of that many small children at one time. Someone should have helped them out. A family member, friends. It sounds to me like these people were just overwhelmed.I mean these kids were home all day. I wonder if the mother ever got any kind of a break.

      • Well said Kaci , sandrs you are verry ignorant, no one told het to open her legs and noond told her to have so many dan kids we are all tired as parents doesnt give us the right to negkect our childrenm people like you ahould not ba allowed to have children i cant believe the things you are saying on here smh

    • Well, some one or two should have quit screwing about 4 years ago. No one makes people have babies. If ya can’t control your urges, wear a condom, or take birth control.

    • No. You are so wrong. I have young children and its hard but that was just pure laziness and its disgusting to have your children living like that. When you live that way you are just lazy and dont care. And thank God someone found that baby and shes safe. The outcome could have been devastating. Ifbyou as a parent can not afford or handle your children you need to seek the help and look up adoption. Thats the problem. People want the welfare money not the kids.

      • Wow crazy it’s ok to b poor it’s not ok do be filthy dirty!! And there is no excuse for that baby being left outside! Passer by thank you for making that call! Your a hero! We need more people like you!

    • Seriously Sandra? If those innocent children were to much for them then maybe they should have stopped having kids or even surrendered them to the fire department, police department or hospital. There is NO excuse.

    • You have got to be kidding me!! If this is the excuse then they should not be having kids. Get your ass up and clean or get rid of the pets that you can’t handle. I have 5 and there is NO way in the world I would find myself in those conditions and leave my baby in the front yard alone like that. There is NO excuse and they deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest. Im more in shock that someone is even defending such POS.

    • Maybe then they should not create so many children if they cannot handle them. Where’s the mother? Nothing about the mother in the report. I’ve raised 5 boys but I never had animal feces in my house nor a cockroach infestation.

    • Sandra did you read the part where it said a passerby found a 2 month old baby in a car seat and after 20 minutes of trying to get someone to open the door they called the police! So that means that baby could have died! Sorry but but is neglect. Its not from a parent becoming overwhelmed! Please know the difference!

    • Its only tiring if you actually do the job of parenting. They clearly were not doing the dirty work of parenting.

    • STOP procreating if it’s damn exhausting. These are the types of stories I share with my 22 year old son, no better birth control and he gets terrified. I tell him to always remember his rubbers and a worst case scenario is the morning after pill. It is not fair to bring children to this world to live in filth and to be endangered. Not fair at all.

    • When your on welfare you have all kinds of time to clean but apparently they used the time for OTHER activities

    • You are really [removed] ignorant. Dont have them if you cant take care of them. I have 6 4 and almost 2 i get overwhelmed and exhausted but by god i wont b leaving them in the cold to fend 4them [removed] selves where they can get injured.

    • There is never an excuse for a parent to leave their baby in the cold in a car seat. There is never an excuse for a parent to not clean their house.
      There is never an excuse to allow pets to [removed] and piss on the floor and not clean it up. There is never an excuse to allow your children to live in filth. I have 3 kids, work 40 + hours a week, and kept my house clean. Some people just need to keep their legs closed and not breed.

    • Mother and father were recently separated. Mother had dropped kids off with father for visitation earlier that day.

    • No excuse for leaving a baby outside in the cold alone, with barely any clothes on. I don’t care if he was struggling to take care of the kids. He could of asked for help from someone. No excuse for a dirty disgusting house, to have the children in. That is just a lazy pig. And a unfit father. The mother should had never left the kids there, with the house in that condition. Someone ought to investigate her also. What is wrong with that lady?

  17. It’s sad, I am sure this is not the only home in the whole A.V, but how can u live like that? Nasty! Clean up it’s not that hard…