On Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 at approximately 2100 hours, Madison County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the area of 7741 Oxbow Road, Lenox, regarding a trespass in progress. The caller advised that there were multiple “homeless” individuals in the area “making a lot of noise” and requested that their welfare be checked on.
Upon arriving in the area, deputies observed an adult male and an adult female subject standing in the roadway, engaged in a loud verbal altercation. The female subject was observed to be carrying a car seat containing a small child. When deputies approached the individuals, the male subject grabbed the car seat from the female subject, threw it over his shoulder, and fled into the woods off the western shoulder of Oxbow Road.
Units quickly established a perimeter in the area and, after approximately two hours, located Thomas C. Bettis, 42, of Canastota, near an encampment in the woods. Bettis was still observed to be holding an 8-month-old female child, whom he was refusing to put down. After several minutes of negotiating with Bettis, he agreed to put the child down and was taken into custody without incident.
Following further investigation into the incident, Bettis was charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor. He was transported to the Madison County Jail where he is awaiting arraignment in CAP Court. The 8-month-old child was transported to Oneida Hospital for evaluation of minor scratches and released to the mother with a Madison County Child Protective Services safety plan in place.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by the Oneida City Police Department, Canastota Police Department, state police, SUNY Morrisville Police Department, Oneida Indian Nation Police Department, Greater Lenox Ambulance Service and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Air 1.
Trespass complaint leads to endangering the welfare of a child arrest in Lenox
On Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 at approximately 2100 hours, Madison County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the area of 7741 Oxbow Road, Lenox, regarding a trespass in progress. The caller advised that there were multiple “homeless” individuals in the area “making a lot of noise” and requested that their welfare be checked on.
Upon arriving in the area, deputies observed an adult male and an adult female subject standing in the roadway, engaged in a loud verbal altercation. The female subject was observed to be carrying a car seat containing a small child. When deputies approached the individuals, the male subject grabbed the car seat from the female subject, threw it over his shoulder, and fled into the woods off the western shoulder of Oxbow Road.
Units quickly established a perimeter in the area and, after approximately two hours, located Thomas C. Bettis, 42, of Canastota, near an encampment in the woods. Bettis was still observed to be holding an 8-month-old female child, whom he was refusing to put down. After several minutes of negotiating with Bettis, he agreed to put the child down and was taken into custody without incident.
Following further investigation into the incident, Bettis was charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor. He was transported to the Madison County Jail where he is awaiting arraignment in CAP Court. The 8-month-old child was transported to Oneida Hospital for evaluation of minor scratches and released to the mother with a Madison County Child Protective Services safety plan in place.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by the Oneida City Police Department, Canastota Police Department, state police, SUNY Morrisville Police Department, Oneida Indian Nation Police Department, Greater Lenox Ambulance Service and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Air 1.