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Comedy night will raise funds for Swoyersville’s Bumper Bunnies event

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Anti-cop pot suspect to go on trial this week

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; City police said they had a difficult time waking up India L. Griffen after her 2-year-old daughter was found by a passer-by on West River Street on Sunday.</p><p>When Griffen awoke after officers yelled, shook the bed and shined flashlights directed at her eyes, police said she had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and was belligerent, court records say.</p><p>A loose dog in the area that had Griffen&#8217;s address on a collar tag led officers to her apartment where a door was found open.</p><p>According to the criminal complaint:</p><p>Judith Solomon approached an officer on Academy Street just before 12 p.m., claiming she found a girl in the middle of West River Street. Solomon said the girl only had a T-shirt on and no shoes, pants or underwear.</p><p>Police said the girl was non-verbal.</p><p>An officer checked the area on West River Street where a man and a woman claimed a girl was picked up by a woman in a white vehicle and a dog was running loose. The officer managed to harness the dog that had Griffen&#8217;s address on a tag.</p><p>Police went to Griffen&#8217;s apartment on West River Street finding an open door. After officers yelled inside, they found Griffen unresponsive on a bed.</p><p>Officers yelled, flashed lights, shook the bed and also shook Griffen without response.</p><p>When Griffen did awaken, she walked into a kitchen ignoring officers&#8217; questions if she was missing a child saying, &#8220;Figure it out,&#8221; the complaint says.</p><p>Police returned the child to Griffen&#8217;s apartment.</p><p>Griffen was escorted outside and when she saw the child, she acknowledged the girl was her daughter and kept saying, &#8220;I was asleep, I was (sic) sleep, I don&#8217;t know anything,&#8221; the complaint says.</p><p>Police learned Griffen has a 7-year-old son and when she was asked about the whereabouts of the boy, she allegedly refused to cooperate and kept screaming, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s happening.&#8221;</p><p>Griffen ignored officer&#8217;s questions to describe her boy, choosing to yell profanities at Solomon and another woman, the complaint says.</p><p>Police said Griffen&#8217;s son was at his grandmother&#8217;s house on South Welles Street, Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>A caseworker from Luzerne County Children &amp; Youth Services granted custody of the girl and boy to the grandmother.</p><p>Griffen was arraigned by District Judge Joseph Halesey in Hanover Township on two counts of endangering the welfare of children and a single count of disorderly conduct. She was jailed at the county correctional facility for lack of $50,000 bail.</p><p>Court records say Griffen last month completed a two-year probation sentence, which was imposed by Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. on Feb. 2, 2017, on a drug trafficking conviction. Griffen pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in connection to heroin found inside a residence on Hill Street, Wilkes-Barre, on Jan. 21, 2016, court records say.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_India-Griffen-03172019.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Griffen </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_India-Griffen-03172019.jpg</photo0><caption0>Griffen </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Mother charged after toddler found in street