The JUSTICE Toddlers - 2 and 4 yo - Columbia SC

A man and a woman accused of leaving children in their own filth went
before a judge Friday. The sign on a fence near a home on Pelion Road
may not be the only reason neighbors did not seem to know what deputies
say was happening there. A 10 foot aluminum barrier makes it impossible
to see the house from ground level.
Lexington County Sheriff James Metts says, “The home was so nasty
that cockroaches wouldn't have lived there.” Sheriff Metts says a two
year old and a four year old were found Wednesday home alone with the
door tied shut. Metts says they were covered in urine and there were
feces all over the room. Metts says deputies found drug paraphernalia in
the home.
The children's mother, 24 year old Amanda Justice, along with the
owner of the home in Pelion, 41 year old Joey Lucas, are charged with
unlawful conduct towards children. Amanda Justice told the judge she
has never hurt her children. They are in DSS custody now, thanks, in
part to Donna Aaron, who says God intervened.
Aaron says, “I think he just picked the right truck. It was an
appointed time.” Aaron says the truck of one of her family member's was
stolen. Deputies say Lucas and Justice took the truck, got into a wreck,
and ran away. Aaron caught up with them and told authorities they may
want to check out the house. She says a family member had come to her
with concerns about the children being left home alone. Aaron says,
“Those kids deserve a chance and hopefully now they'll have one. I don't
have a lot of sympathy for adults. I do believe there's forgiveness,
but I believe they are getting what they deserve.” Bond for Lucas and
Justice was set today at $200,000. They also had bond set yesterday on
the stolen truck charge. DSS officials say they have had prior
involvement with justice and her family, but they refused to go into
details. Right now, DSS says the children have ear and upper respiratory
infections, and they are covered in ant and flea bites.

Bond has been set for a couple charged with
child neglect after officials found two children home alone in their
Pelion house Wednesday night.

The judge set bond at $200,000 each for
Amanda Leigh Justice, 24, and Joey Dean Lucas, 41. Each faces two counts
of unlawful neglect of a child.

DSS case worker Shepherd Perry told a judge
Friday the girls are in state custody and doctors found infections in
the girls, and their bodies covered with ant and flea bites.

Investigators say it started when Justice and
Lucas crashed a stolen Ford pick-up truck on Blackville Road late
Wednesday night and fled the scene. They were soon caught by police and
charged with possessing a stolen vehicle.

Bond was set for that charge on Thursday at
$5,000 for Lucas and $10,000 for Justice, meaning Lucas must pay a
$210,000 total bond and Justice owes $210,000.

The judge would not allow audio recording
during the bond hearing Friday, but Justice sobbed as she disputed the
charges. She told the judge she has never hurt her children.

After Justice and Lucas were arrested,
officials say they told deputies two young girls had been left at their
home on Pelion Road. When deputies arrived, they say they found a
2-year-old and 4-year-old sealed in a bedroom covered in feces, urine,
trash and toys.

"These kids were living in human feces,
urine," said Lexington County Sheriff James Metts. "They were soaked in a
t-shirt with nothing but human urine."

Deputies say they also found drug
paraphernalia and three pipes that appeared to have been used to smoke
marijuana in another room inside the home.

Justice explained at a bond hearing why she
left the scene during a bond hearing on the stolen vehicle charge
Thursday. "The only reason I left the scene is because I left my
driver's license at home and I probably should have just stayed there,"
said Justice.

The two children were taken into the custody
of the Department of Social Services after they were found.

"We don't really know how long they'd been
there, but it that had not have happened, we don't know how long they
would have been there," said Metts. "Whether they would have been
discovered before something more serious would have happened."

If convicted, the pair could spend 10 years
in jail.