In his 16 years of law enforcement, Lieutenant Scott Hall said the conditions at a house on London Church Road were the worst he has seen.

Three children living in the doublewide mobile near the end of the dead end road off Highway 158 were taken into Department of Social Services custody and are now with other people, Hall said this morning.

Another outside view.

Halifax County Sheriff's Office deputies discovered the squalid conditions after receiving a call for a welfare check on the children and learning about a pound of marijuana was in the house, some of it already packaged for sale, Hall said.

The discovery of drugs, which also included ecstasy pills, led to the deputies calling narcotics agent, who arrested Derrick Anthony Arp, 25, and Wilerea Denise Solomon, 28. The pair are believed to be boyfriend and girlfriend although Hall said it was not immediately clear which of the pair were parents of the children.

“The smell was horrible,” said Hall, who was at the house with the deputies and narcotics agents Wednesday night.

There was humane waste, both feces and urine, in buckets inside the house, Hall said. There were holes in the floor and decaying and spoiled meat in the house. An untold number of cockroaches scurried around the house.

A doghouse with cinder blocks on top of it.

Hall said the welfare check on the children was the primary reason for the call. The investigating deputies asked about drugs and Arp allegedly admitted there were drugs in the house.

The marijuana was found in a bedroom of the house. Narcotics agents suspect it was being sold because part of the paraphernalia they found were items for repackaging, Hall said.

Narcotics agents seized some money, most of it in silver change, Hall confirmed. He said the value of the marijuana is between $1,000 and $1,500.

Despite the conditions, Hall said it appeared the children's physical condition appeared to be OK.

Hall said in a press release submitted this morning, Deputy C.T. Jenkins received a complaint from a concerned citizen about what was described as “very poor” living conditions for the children who lived in the home.

Jenkins and deputies M.F. Almendarez and D.R. Radford began an investigation which allegedly confirmed the children were living in poor conditions and marijuana was in the home.

Arp, left, and Solomon.

Arp was charged with possession with the intent to sell and deliver marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, maintain a dwelling to store a controlled substance and  possession with the intent to sell and deliver ecstasy.

Solomon was also arrested and charged with possession with the intent to sell and deliver marijuana, maintain a dwelling to store a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Arp was placed in the Halifax County Jail under a $6,000 secured bond. Solomon was placed in the Halifax County Jail under a $5,000 secured bond. Both have  August 3 court dates.