ELKTON, Fla. – Two children were taken into custody by a relative after St. Johns County investigators said they were threatened with a shotgun.
According to a report from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the man accused of threatening the children with a gun was identified as Traiten Bibbs, 47, of Elkton. Bibbs was charged with a first-degree felony of cruelty to children, a third-degree felony of child neglect and illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, which is a second-degree felony.
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According to the arrest report, the incident happened late Thursday night at Bibbs’s home on Armstrong Road.
The children told investigators, the report states, that Bibbs armed himself with a shotgun, pointed the gun and them, and threatened to shoot them if they did not get out of the home. The threat allegedly happened during an argument between Bibbs and the children. The report states that both children got out and retreated to a neighbor’s house, where a call to 911 was made.
According to the report, the children told deputies that Bibbs regularly consumes alcohol and narcotics, but they believe he was under the influence of alcohol when he threatened them.
Bibbs told deputies that he pays the bills and the children run over him and don’t keep their rooms clean. He was also quoted by investigators as saying, “respect me or check me,” and that he would call the Department of Children and Families to have them take the children away.
When deputies searched the home, the report states, they found shotgun shells, the shotgun that was allegedly pointed at the children and they found drug paraphernalia.
A search of the home also led to a disturbing discovery. According to the arrest report, the residence was not fit for anyone to reside in. The report states that deputies discovered active mold throughout the home and numerous spots in the roof that were caved in with materials dropping into all the rooms. Investigators said there was hardly any food in the home and, according to the children, a neighbor regularly feeds them. Investigators determined Bibbs was unfit to supervise or care for the children.
As a result of statements from the children and the discovery of the living conditions inside the home, deputies made the decision to have the children placed with their next of kin.
DCF has opened a separate investigation into what happened.