West Deer police arrested a Vandergrift woman after she told them she left her two toddlers unattended because she thought her estranged father broke into the basement to harass her.

Ashley Dawn Miller, 25, of the 100 block of Custer Avenue was charged with two felony counts of endangering the welfare of children. She was detained in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of a $20,000 cash bond following her arrest, according to court records.

On Wednesday, her bond was changed to nonmonetary and she was released from custody to await a preliminary hearing before District Judge Tom Swan on Jan. 10, court records show.

Before she was released, four misdemeanor charges related to making false reports to law enforcement were filed against her by West Deer police. The hearing for those charges also is scheduled for Jan. 10.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that Miller called 911 at 7:41 a.m. Oct. 5 and gave the dispatcher an address about a mile from her home before hanging up without stating a reason for the call.

When police arrived at the location, she told them she left the house because she and her father have a no-contact order and he was in the basement harassing her.

She told police her 2- and 4-year-old children were in the home alone, the complaint said. Officers noted in the complaint that Miller told them she was a recovering methamphetamine user.

When police went to the house, they found the children sleeping. Miller told officers she called police the night before to report that her father was in the house but they did not check the basement when they arrived.

Police confirmed that an officer responded to a 911 call to the address the previous night and that Allegheny County Children, Youth and Family Services were contacted to discuss the call made by Miller and her drug use, the complaint said.

Police said they checked the home and found nobody inside and no sign of forced entry. An officer also called Miller’s father, who told them he spent the night at a friend’s house.

Officers also asked for a county CYF caseworker to respond to the scene because they found the conditions in the home dirty and unsafe for the children, according to the complaint.

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