State v. Jonathan L. (In re Jadis R.)

• Decision Date: 22 March 2022
• Docket Number: A-21-654
• Parties: In re Interest of Jadis R., a child under 18 years of age. v. Jonathan L., appellant. State of Nebraska, appellee,
• Court: Nebraska Court of Appeals

In re Interest of Jadis R., a child under 18 years of age.

State of Nebraska, appellee,
v.
Jonathan L., appellant.

No. A-21-654

Court of Appeals of Nebraska

March 22, 2022

THIS OPINION IS NOT DESIGNATED FOR PERMANENT PUBLICATION AND MAY NOT BE CITED EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY NEB. CT. R. APP. P. § 2-102(E).

Appeal from the County Court for Scotts Bluff County: James M. Worden, Judge.

Audrey M. Long, of A. Elliott Law, P.C., L.L.O., for appellant.

Paul W. Snyder, Deputy Scotts Bluff County Attorney, for appellee.

Pirtle, Chief Judge, and Riedmann and Welch, Judges.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT ON APPEAL

Welch, Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Jonathan L. appeals from the order of the Scotts Bluff County Court, sitting in its capacity as a juvenile court, terminating his parental rights. Jonathan asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support termination of his parental rights and that termination was not in the minor child's best interests. Katrina R. seeks affirmative relief in an Appellee brief improperly designated for that purpose. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Jonathan and Katrina are the parents of Jadis R., who was born in August 2010. On January 28, 2021, Scotts Bluff Police Investigator Andrew Soucie responded to a child abuse intake regarding Jadis. The intake reflected that Jadis was residing in a motel room with his paternal

1

grandmother, Sheryl Beecher; that there were "a lot of people" staying in that motel room; that Jadis was not being taken care of properly; and that there was narcotic use occurring in the motel room which placed Jadis in danger. Upon arriving at the motel room, Beecher consented to Soucie entering the motel room to talk about Jadis. Upon entry into the motel room, Soucie observed narcotic paraphernalia on a table in plain view. After obtaining a warrant, Soucie searched the motel room locating multiple items of drug paraphernalia associated with both marijuana and methamphetamine use, 15 uncapped and used syringes and needles scattered throughout the room including on Jadis' clothing, and baggies with residue. These items were easily accessible to Jadis. Soucie obtained a second search warrant after motel staff located items inside a backpack while cleaning out the room. A search of the backpack uncovered 2.7 grams of methamphetamine, additional needles and syringes, and other items including suspected illegal substances and other drug paraphernalia. The adults living in the motel room were arrested for child abuse and possession of controlled substances. At that time, Jadis was placed on a 48-hour hold.

On January 29, 2021, the State filed a petition, as amended, alleging that Jadis came within the meaning of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-247(3)(a) (Reissue 2016). Specifically, the State alleged that Jadis' parents "neglected or refused to provide special care made necessary by the mental condition of [Jadis]," that Jadis had "exhibited excessive absenteeism in that he was absent all or a portion of more than 10 days during the 2020-2021 school year," and that Jadis "was in a situation dangerous to life or limb or injurious to his health or morals" because he "lacks safe and stable housing" and his "parents neglect or refuse to provide [Jadis] with necessary parental care or protection." That same day, Jadis was placed in the custody of the State of Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Jadis has remained in out-of-home placement during the pendency of this case.

In February 2021, prior to an adjudication hearing, the State filed motions to terminate Jonathan's and Katrina's parental rights pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292(1), (2) and (4) (Reissue 2016). The termination hearing was held in June 2021. The court received into evidence several exhibits, including Jonathan's prior convictions for possession of marijuana, misdemeanor assault, attempted felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine; certified copies of the 2011 and 2014 juvenile cases involving Jadis; deposition testimony of two witnesses; and the court's March 9, 2021, journal entry and order.

During the termination hearing, Soucie testified to the events as previously set forth. The State adduced additional testimony from, inter alia, Lauren Trenkle, a DHHS child and family service specialist, whose deposition testimony was received into evidence; Breanna Bird, a DHHS child and family support worker who took over the case from Trenkle; Karen Norton, a family support worker; Michael Macias, Jadis' school counselor; and Stephanie Skinner, Jonathan's probation officer. Additionally, both Jonathan and Katrina testified in their own behalf.

Trenkle's deposition testimony provided that, after receiving a child abuse intake regarding Jadis, she conducted the initial assessment in which she interviewed Jadis and observed Jadis' January 2021 forensic interview. Trenkle stated that the intake documented concerns including Jadis' school absences, his living situation, and possible drug use by his caretaker. During her assessment, Trenkle unsuccessfully attempted to reach Jonathan by phone, then reached out to Beecher who stated that she had not seen Jonathan for a while and did not know how to reach him. Trenkle also spoke with Jonathan's ex-girlfriend who stated that she had not seen him in months.

2

Trenkle also learned from law enforcement that, although Jonathan had an active warrant, efforts to locate him had been unsuccessful. Trenkle stated that from the time she received the intake in January until the time she transferred the case to Breanna Bird for ongoing case management in March, Trenkle had only been able to reach Jonathan once and he had reported that he was living with Beecher at the motel. Jonathan requested visitation and indicated to Trenkle that probation was attempting to find him treatment for substance abuse.

In March 2021, Bird took over case management of this case from Trenkle. According to Bird, she had also worked with Jonathan and Jadis in a previous case from October 2014. As a caseworker, she reviewed prior cases which disclosed that Jadis had previously been removed on four occasions due to substance abuse by Jadis' caregivers. Bird stated that the last time that Jadis had been in Katrina's care was in the summer of 2019 and, at that time, Katrina contacted Beecher for assistance in caring for Jadis since Jonathan was incarcerated at that time. Jadis had remained in Beecher's care since the summer of 2019.

Bird testified that, during past cases, Jonathan had been actively using methamphetamine and had been incarcerated. Additionally, during the present juvenile case, Jonathan had been incarcerated in February, April, and May 2021. Bird testified that, despite her attempts at communication, she had minimal contact with Jonathan during this case with the most success occurring immediately after Jonathan's release from jail in February. During that contact, Jonathan reported to Bird that Jadis had been with Jonathan for about 2 weeks in January 2021, but because he was homeless, he requested that Beecher care for Jadis. Jonathan also admitted his struggles with drug use stating that he had progressed from using marijuana to using methamphetamine and heroin. Jonathan's third arrest in May 2021 resulted in his imprisonment which continued at the time of the termination hearing.

During this case, although Bird completed referrals to facilitate visitation between Jonathan and Jadis, visits could not initially be scheduled because the servicer's attempts to contact Jonathan failed. Bird testified that she called Jonathan to schedule visits but he stated that he was in Colorado for a funeral and would contact her to schedule visitation upon his return; however, Jonathan did not initially contact Bird when he returned from Colorado, rather he contacted her only after he was arrested. After Jonathan contacted Bird, visitation services were successfully scheduled, but Jonathan only attended 57 percent of those visits and Jonathan fell asleep during two of the visits that he did attend. Karen Norton supervised two of Jonathan's visits with Jadis. According to...