Trial ordered for Vandergrift woman accused of exposing kids to drugs, living in unsanitary home

A Vandergrift woman accused of exposing her children to drugs and alcohol and forcing them to live in filthy conditions with food that was expired or rotting has been ordered to stand trial.

Rebecca Elaine Toth, 29, of the 400 block of Jackson Avenue was charged April 5 with a felony count of endangering the welfare of children along with two counts of endangering children and three counts of drug possession, which are misdemeanors.

Toth waived her right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec, who ordered her to stand trial in Westmoreland County Court, where a plea hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20, according to court records. She was released on a $1,000 unsecured bond to await trial.

Toth was charged by summons after Vandergrift police executed a search warrant at her home about 8:30 p.m. on March 29, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers were met at the door by Kevin Alexander II, 27, of Cherry Alley in New Kensington. Alexander was taken into custody on an arrest warrant from the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office, the complaint said.

In November, a district judge ordered Alexander to stand trial on a felony strangulation charge and a count of simple assault filed by New Kensington police. According to court records, he failed to appear for a Jan. 4 plea hearing scheduled in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court.

Police arrested another man at the house, Timothy William Wolfe, 39, of Apollo, who was wanted on an arrest warrant after failing to show up for court in Armstrong County to face a charge of theft from a motor vehicle filed by state police in March 2022, according to the court docket.

Police said Alexander had a small bag of marijuana in his pocket, and Wolfe was sitting on a crack pipe when they were arrested.

Officers who searched the house said they found a baggie of marijuana “roaches” on a kitchen counter, four empty Fireball whiskey bottles in a cupboard along with more marijuana roaches and crack cocaine that was wrapped in a store receipt.

Police said there was children’s clothing and food scattered around the house, which had only one working light bulb.

Officers said the house was unsanitary and the refrigerator contained expired food and alcoholic beverages.

Pots with rotting food were found inside the oven, police said.