FRESNO, California. (KSEE) – A Fresno father has been taken into custody and faces multiple felony charges after authorities were called to a residence where they found four children living in what they call “deplorable” conditions.
Joseph Martinez was on his way to work when he drove past the residence on Olive and Peach avenues and noticed a toddler sitting alone outside in a diaper, playing in the mud.
“I made a U-turn and drove back… That’s when I saw the second baby out on the sidewalk in a highchair,” he said.
Martinez, who is a father himself, says when he arrived at the front door of the residence, he could tell something was wrong.
“I called inside and nobody answered…I was going to go inside but the stench was so bad I couldn’t. I just thought that, given the conditions inside, maybe somebody had overdosed, and the kids might have been on their own,” he recalled.
Martinez called authorities and when they arrived, they found four children overall: three boys and one girl, ages 1, 3, 4 and, 7. Police say there was no food in the home and the living conditions were not suitable for any human being. The oldest was able to tell authorities that their parents were at work. When they tracked down the father, 33-year-old Joshua Yang, they immediately took him to jail. Several hours later, the mother, Bao Xiong, was arrested after she turned herself in to the police.
The children are now with child protective services.