‘We’re taking your children. Have a good night.’
Joseph and Kera Turner, who escaped the Dixie Fire in August of 2021, were arrested after being ordered to evacuate their California property and after they temporarily moved to Reno.
Five days after they fled the fire, the Turners were put in handcuffs and taken to jail for possessing stolen property. Washoe County officials accused them of being criminals and drug addicts.
“Mrs. Turner is unable to control her behavior due to drug addiction,” Emily Ruff with Washoe County’s Human Services Agency wrote in a report after the couple were arrested. “The home environment has been observed to have drug paraphernalia, and collaterals report their living in Lassen County has been observed to be cluttered and covered in drug paraphernalia. Kera failed to take the proper steps to address the problem by getting into a rehabilitation program prior to her arrest.”
These allegations were repeated by the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office after being used as a reason to place their toddler with the babysitter who called CPS and the sheriff’s office.
“Joe and Kera have strong parenting skills that are beneficial to (their child).”
“We’re taking your children. Have a good night,” a social worker allegedly said to the Turners while they were arrested.
Kera called the allegations false, and she denied them at the time. She said she takes prescription medications, and, as part of rescuing animals on their property, the Turners use syringes to dispense medicines for veterinary purposes. Goats, dogs, chickens and ducks were evacuated from their property.
The Turners, to gain back custody of their child, took several classes. They passed courses in anger management, drug and alcohol awareness, parenting and family stabilization. They said they took the classes voluntarily to counteract the allegations made against them by the babysitter, the district attorney’s office and Washoe County CPS.
They also took and passed multiple drug tests. Washoe County’s allegations of illicit drug use and possession of drug paraphernalia could not be substantiated by Lassen County’s Health and Social Services Department. The pair were never charged with anything drug-related.
“Joe and Kera have strong parenting skills that are beneficial to (their child),” a Lassen County social worker wrote. “Each parent’s personal capacity contributes to resting safety, permanency, and well-being for (the child).”
The social worker also could not substantiate Washoe County’s allegations.
“I have never suspected either of you to be under the influence of any substances,” the social worker wrote to the Turners in November of 2021. “I found no credible evidence of substance abuse by either of you from before (your daughter’s) birth to (the) present.”
The social worker commended the couple on their “open communication, willing cooperation, and eagerness to safely parent your daughter.”
Read part four tomorrow: “Charges dismissed.” Subscribe to read the seven-part series.
