PORT CHARLOTTE — Authorities found two children and an elderly woman living in filthy conditions after the children’s mother left them to go to Orlando last weekend, according to a Charlotte County Sheriff’s report.

Susan Christine Warner, 40, of the 1200 block of Kensington Street, Port Charlotte, was charged with two counts of child neglect and one count of neglect of an elderly person, in connection with the incident.

According to the report, authorities became aware of the situation after a 10-year-old girl living at the home wandered next door Sunday night to complain that she was hungry. The concerned neighbor phoned the CCSO, and deputies found the house filled with trash, rotting food and dog feces. A 3-year-old girl also was found at the home wearing filthy and oversized clothing, and an 87-year-old woman was found bedridden and smelling of urine, the report states.

When Warner was questioned by authorities, she said she had taken her 14-year-old daughter to Universal Studios in Orlando over the weekend, and didn’t feel she had left the children to fend for themselves because the 87-year-old woman, who is Warner’s grandmother, was there to take care of them, according to the report.

Warner was arrested Tuesday and transported to the Charlotte County Jail, where she remains on $15,000 bond. The Department of Children and Families turned the three children over to a relative, the report states, and the elderly woman was admitted to Fawcett Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Report: Carjacking lands Lake Placid man in jail

PORT CHARLOTTE — A late September high-speed chase led to the weeks-long search for a Lake Placid man wanted for carjacking a woman and then abandoning the vehicle in DeSoto County, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

Timothy Morris Hobbs, 25, of Lake Placid, was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, reckless driving, fleeing, driving with a suspended license and carjacking without a weapon or firearm, in connection with the incident.

According to the report, an FHP trooper saw a grey four-door Nissan driving erratically on Kings Highway and attempted to make a traffic stop on Sept. 21. The vehicle sped away, heading into DeSoto County, but the trooper lost sight of the car.

Later that day, a woman who had been a passenger in the vehicle — which belonged to her — flagged down authorities in DeSoto County and said she had jumped out of the moving car because of Hobbs’s erratic driving, the report said. Hobbs kept driving in the car, which later was abandoned, and a weeks-long search began for Hobbs throughout Lake Placid and Arcadia, according to the report.

Hobbs eventually was located, arrested and transported to the Charlotte County Jail, where he was released Wednesday on $33,500 bond.

Minor injuries in school bus crash

DESOTO COUNTY — Minor injuries were reported when a car struck a school bus Wednesday morning on State Road 31 at Carlstrom Field Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A Hyundai driven by Joel Valentin, 27, of Fort Myers, was northbound on S.R. 31 while the school bus, driven by Phyllis Johnson, 73, of Arcadia, was heading south S.R. 31, the FHP reports. Valentin reportedly pulled out into the northbound lane in an attempt to pass another vehicle and failed to see the bus. The car collided with the bus and came to rest on the shoulder of the road.

Only one student was in the bus at the time. Valentin and the student were taken to DeSoto Memorial Hospital with minor injuries — the student, with “minor bumps and bruises,” according to the FHP. The bus driver had no injuries. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts.

Valentin was cited with improper passing.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office reported the following arrests:

• Kasey Le Ellison, 30, of Sarasota. Charge: Sarasota County warrant. Bond: $28,000.

• Danielle Marie Cook, 26, 7200 block of Sea Mist Drive, Port Charlotte. Charges: grand theft, dealing in stolen property and fraud. Bond: $20,000.

• Matthew Kenneth Meyers, 22, 500 block of Fairview Ave., Port Charlotte. Charges: two counts each of passing a forged instrument and petty theft. Bond: $8,000.

• Christopher Lee Deboard, 32, 22100 block of Felton Ave., Port Charlotte. Charge: violation of probation (original charges: leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, DUI, and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death without offering aid). Bond: none.

• Roosevelt Gatlin, 41, 21500 block of Edgewater Drive, Port Charlotte. Charge: possession of a counterfeited instrument. Bond: $5,000.

• Damien Joseph Mosser Jr., 35, 3300 block of Pine Tree St., Port Charlotte. Charges: operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and failure to maintain liability insurance. Bond: $1,000.

• Ashley Renee Ruff, 21, 22100 block of Montrose Ave., Port Charlotte. Charge: fraud and petty theft. Bond: none.

• Wayne Howard Liskow, 40, 500 block of Fairview Ave., Port Charlotte. Charge: aggravated battery using a deadly weapon. Bond: $7,500.

• Robert Daniel Rogers, 19, Sylvania Ave., Englewood. Charges: burglary and grand theft. Bond: $7,500.

• James Richard King Jr., 43, 11200 block of Grafton Ave., Englewood. Charges: failure to appear and violation of pretrial-release conditions. Bond: none.

• Patrick Hugh Hawkins Jr., 32, 7300 block of Mullen Lane, Port Charlotte. Charges: selling methaqualone and possession of a controlled substance. Bond: $7,500.

• Janet Lynn Saunders, 51, 700 block of Floral Lane, Port Charlotte. Charge: violation of probation (original charges: selling or possessing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia). Bond: none.

The North Port Police Department reported the following arrests:

• Kevin R. Cortissoz, 33, 5900 block of Talbrook Ave., North Port. Charges: three Charlotte County warrants for three counts of violation of probation (original charges: driving while license is suspended, and two counts of passing worthless checks). Bond: $3,050.• Robert John Rinaldo, 62, 6300 block of Jordan St., North Port. Charges: driving while license is suspended — third or subsequent offense, DUI with an unlawful blood-alcohol level, and possession or display of a canceled or revoked license. Bond: $

2,120.

• Cleoty Morales, 38, of Naples. Charge: leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage. Bond: $500.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office reported the following arrests:

• Christian Martin Carassai, 26, 1100 block of Leeward Road, Venice. Charge: driving while license is suspended or revoked with knowledge. Bond: $120.

• Cory Eugene Wolfe, 32, 13200 block of Carter Ave., Port Charlotte. Charges: theft and a Hillsborough County warrant for driving while license is suspended. Bond: none.• Jason Mathews, 37, 6200 block of Coniston Terrace, North Port. Charges: burglary of a conveyance, theft and possession of a harmful new drug without a prescription. Bond: $

6,120.

• Michael Maggio, 50, 200 block of Baffin Road, Venice. Charge: Manatee County warrant for violation of probation (original charge: possession of a controlled substance without a prescription). Bond: none.

• Blaine Michael Murphy, 23, 200 block of Bayview Parkway, Venice. Charges: dealing in sto len property, giving false identification to a secondhand dealer and theft. Bond: $75,000.• Sara Haskins, 19, 1200 block of Olympia Road, Venice. Charges: possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession and/or use of narcotic equipment. Bond: $1,120.

— Compiled by Drew Winchester, Anne Klockenkemper and
Susan E. Hoffman