Officers with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety collect evidence at the Newark home where four – kids including two found locked in a dog kennel – were removed and placed in foster care nearly five years ago. ARCHIVES | WCMESSENGER
The mother of four children found in “horrendous conditions” — including young children found in dog kennels, according to officers — has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Paige Isabow Harkings, 29, pleaded guilty to four counts of injury to a child causes serious bodily injury Aug. 14, 2023, according to review of recent pleas entered in 271st District Court in Decatur.
Harkings faced a punishment range of 5 to 99 years or life in prison for the first degree felony offense.
The co-defendant in the case, Andrew Joseph Fabila, pleaded guilty in January of 2022 to the same offense and received a 20-year sentence.
Harkings is the mother of all four children, and Fabila is the father of one child.
The children were discovered after officers responded to a family disturbance call in the 100 block of County Road 4930 in Newark Feb. 12, 2019.
An arrest affidavit in the case provides details of what a Wise County Sheriff’s deputy and Texas Department of Public Safety trooper found inside, including two children — who were 5 and 4 at the time — covered in their own feces lying in a canine kennel.
The shop where the family was living had electricity but no running water or toilet facilities. The affidavit states the children were using a non-connected toilet with trash bags around the toilet bowl to urinate and defecate.
The two younger children, ages 3 and 1 at the time, were in diapers that appeared not to have been changed “in a lengthy amount of time,” the affidavit states.
“It was just horrendous. It’s not the way children should be living,” Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said at the time of the initial investigation.
At a hearing following the arrests, a CPS investigator told the judge at least three of the children were non-verbal, and the oldest child seemed likely to have autism.
Officers originally responded to the location after dispatchers received a call from Fabila at 7:20 a.m. Feb. 12, 2019, about a possible disturbance at the location, according to call sheet records. Fabila told dispatchers he had consumed five beers and Harkings had three, the call sheet states. A woman could be heard yelling in the background about a broken window.
Other plea agreements from the last six months of 2023 include the following:
First degree felony offenses
Zane Thomas Scott of Chico, aggravated sexual assault of a child, 20 years in prison
Gena Walles May of Crowley, manufacture/deliver a controlled substance 4-200 grams, eight years in prison
Corey Wayne Davis of Dallas, manufacture/deliver a controlled substance 4-200 grams, seven years in prison
Jorge Luis Ramirez Urtiaga, six years in prison
Terri Jo Shafter of Abilene, manufacture/deliver a controlled substance 4-200 grams, five years in prison
Jesus Viasan Jr. of Fort Worth, aggravated sexual assault of a child, deferred adjudication/10 years probation
Second degree felony offenses:
Carl William Barnett of Mineral Wells, possession of a controlled substance 4-400 grams, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Alfonso Duran Jr. of Decatur, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four years in prison
Colby Lane Price of Decatur, possession of a controlled substance 4-400 grams, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Baominh Mai Do of Runaway Bay, possession of a controlled substance 4-200 grams, six years in prison
Andrew Jake Dehoyos of Decatur, indecency with a child sexual contact, deferred adjudication/10 years probation
Christopher Douglas Wolf of Wichita Falls, possession of a controlled substance 4-400 grams, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Miklo Rosalez of Bridgeport, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, deferred adjudication/seven years probation
Jesus Ramon Soto Jr. of Bridgeport, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, deferred adjudication/seven years probation
Christopher Douglas Wolf of Wichita Falls, possession of a controlled substance 4-400 grams, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Michael Anthony Lopez of Tyler, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Dustin Dow Strouth of Weatherford, burglary of a habitation, 45 years in prison
Phillip Drew Harris of Edmond, Okla., sexual assault of a child, deferred adjudication/eight years probation
James Melvin Pollard Jr. of Chico, sexual assault of a child, 12 years in prison
Tommy Lee Reed of Lake Bridgeport, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, deferred adjudication/six years probation
Renee Harper Knittle of Decatur, possession of a controlled substance 4-200 grams, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Pamela Gayle Miller, possession of a controlled substance 4-200 grams, deferred adjudication/six years probation
James Alva Elston III of Decatur, burglary of a habitation, 25 years in prison
Jason Duane Hickson of Newark, indecency with a child sexual contact, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Eric Raymond Weaver of Paradise, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four years in prison
Jeremy Shane Womack of Bridgeport, manufacture/deliver a controlled substance 1-4 grams, two years in prison
Kelly Dean Robertson of Boyd, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, five years in prison
Third degree felony offenses:
Sergio Ortega-Torres of Decatur, driving while intoxicated third or more, three years in prison
Marcus Riggins of Decatur, prohibited substance in a correctional facility, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Thomas Christopher Small of Paradise, continuous violence against the family, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Corinna Lynn Goncalves of Rhome, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Christopher Lynn Markham of Fort Worth, indecency with a child sexual contact (solicitation of a minor), deferred adjudication/five years probation
Michael McDonnell of Bridgeport, injury to a child, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Rodolfo Reyna of Fort Worth, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, two years in prison
Daniel Cortez of Bridgeport, driving while intoxicated third or more, 10-year suspended sentence/eight years probation
Kelsey Betrice Guinn of Decatur, fraudulent use/possession of identifying information less than five items elderly victim, deferred adjudication/four years probation
David Clinton Schoultz of Watauga, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Tina Marie James of Paradise, driving while intoxicated third or more, five-year suspended sentence/five years probation
Elicia Rena Fajardo of Red Oak, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, four years in prison
William Roy Robinson of Chico, assault family/household member with previous conviction, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Kendra Jean Shaw of Fort Worth, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, three years in prison
Easton Charles Albert of Newark, evading arrest/detention with vehicle, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Rian Kristofer Rogers of Azle, injury to a child/elderly/disabled with intent to cause bodily injury, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Zachary Gene Bolt of Decatur, assault family/household member impede breath/circulation, five years in prison
Bruce Norvell Stepeny of Keller, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Jerry Lee Cooper Jr. of Boyd, driving while intoxicated third or more, 16 years in prison
Bryan Lee Gray of Wichita Falls, driving while intoxicated third or more, 10-year suspended sentence/10 years probation
David Phonesavanh Doungdara of Fort Worth, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, deferred adjudication/eight years probation
Jaycob Edward Truesdell of Paradise, evading arrest or detention with vehicle, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Gonzalo Dominguez Muro of Newark, assault family/household member with previous conviction, deferred adjudication/three years probation
Scott Allen Gray of Boyd, unlawful possession of firearm by a felon, deferred adjudication/10 years probation
Verona Laverne Boyd of Fort Worth, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, deferred adjudication/four years probation
Isia Estrada of Newark, evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Jason Andrew Holmes of Decatur, driving while intoxicated third or more, 10-year suspended sentence/eight-year suspended sentence
Eduardo Gamino of Fort Worth, possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, three years in prison
Maria Narvaez of Fort Worth, driving while intoxicated third or more, 8-year suspended sentence/eight years probation
Cara Lorraine Belew, hinder apprehension or prosecution of known felon, deferred adjudication/five years probation
Jimmy Kylan McFarland of Runaway Bay, indecency with a child exposes, deferred adjudication/10 years probation
Randall Gage Littlefield of Boyd, evading arrest/detention with vehicle, deferred adjudication/eight years probation
Garrett Allen Grisham of Bridgeport, evading arrest/detention with vehicle, four years in prison
Adam Clyde Eschman of Newark, deadly conduct discharge firearm, five-year suspended sentence/five years probation
Richard Lorrin Wall of Paradise, injury to a child/elderly/disabled with intent to cause bodily injury, deferred adjudication/three years probation
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