A Daytona Beach woman was arrested Tuesday after police found cockroaches crawling inside the house where she lives with her five children.
Police said Brandy Azad, 33, failed to provide a "livable" residence for her children. She was charged with five counts of child neglect because she did not "provide her children with the services necessary to maintain the children's physical and mental health."
While walking inside the house on Thunderbird Drive, officers said they noticed cockroaches around the living room, kitchen counters and outside the refrigerator.
"And there were just cockroaches running on the floor, cockroaches on the wall," Sgt. Jimmie Flynt, Daytona Beach police, said. "There was spoiled food in the refrigerator, spoiled food on the counters."
Officers responded to the scene after neighbors witnessed two children under the age of 5 roaming the streets unsupervised at night. Two of the children are diagnosed with autism and one has Down syndrome. There were five children under the age of 7 inside the residence, officers said.
Azad said she has been living at the residence for almost a year and is facing eviction. She also told officers she is unemployed. Her sources of income are food stamps and disability assistance, according to the report.
Azad blames the conditions on the landlord. Police said the landlord was cited for code violations in March and had until July to correct the violations.
The children were turned over to the Department of Children and Families.