Different Views of Mother in Neglect Case

Her neighbors at the Normandy Apartments saw two sides of Julie Porter, the Anaheim woman arrested this week on suspicion of leaving her two children alone for four hours in what officers said was a filthy, dangerous home.

A neighbor who lives two doors away in the 100 block of North Syracuse Street, said she was surprised by the arrest of Porter, 22, about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday after someone reported hearing a child crying for hours.

“She seems like she really cares for her kids,” Liwayway Magat said. “We always chanced upon her outside. She’s a nice girl.”

But another neighbor, Melanie Hosea, said she often saw Porter yelling and cursing at her children.

“Everybody gets mad at their kids,” she said, “but it was more than what it should be.”

Porter was arraigned Wednesday in Municipal Court in Fullerton on charges of child neglect and possession of a controlled substance.

Police Sgt. Joe Vargas said the apartment manager unlocked the door for officers, who found Porter’s 1 1/2-year-old son asleep on the living room floor of the darkened, garbage-filled apartment. His 4-month-old sister was asleep in the bedroom.

In addition to the garbage, officers said they found several sharp objects, a stepladder reaching to the stove and a half-filled bathtub, police said. They also found bags with traces of methamphetamine, Vargas said.

He said the children could have been alone up to four hours. Officers arrested Porter when she returned; she said she had gone to pick up a friend, police said.

Anaheim police had arrested Porter in the past for petty crimes, Vargas said, but they had never been to her home before Tuesday because of a complaint about the care of her children.

She was being held Wednesday at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Porter’s children were taken to the Orangewood Children’s Home in Orange, the county-run shelter for abused or neglected kids.

Porter’s mother had been in touch with Anaheim detectives, Vargas said, but it was unclear whether she would take temporary custody of the children.

“I hope things work out for her and her kids,” Magat said. “It’s sad, because it’s Christmastime, and they should be together.”