Anthony and Mary Foxworth, in green and white striped jail garb, wait to be returned to the jail after hearing. Her attorney Jacob Clark sits in the foreground.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Mary G. and Anthony S. Foxworth Sr. were returned to Lewis County last week and brought before a judge this morning where they pleaded not guilty to bail jumping.
The Centralia parents failed to appear for their sentencing earlier this month for first-degree criminal mistreatment involving severe neglect of their teenage son. They were tracked down and located in South Carolina.
The couple face prison terms of between 51 months to 68 months for the original case and now also a maximum of five years for the new charge.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely O’Rourke advised them since they’ve already been convicted and because they violated conditions of their release, they no longer have a right to bail.
They are being held in the Lewis County Jail, where they were booked last Thursday night.
Centralia police began investigating in January of last year, after couple took their 16-year-old son to the doctor, and he was hospitalized with severe malnutrition, weighing just 54 pounds. Police found he had not seen a doctor since 2007, was not enrolled in school and could not read or write.
Anthony Foxworth Sr., 45, and Mary Foxworth, 43, pleaded guilty in October to avoid the possibility of being convicted in a trial of potentially more serious charges.
Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said the couple will come back to court on Dec. 21 to schedule a date for sentencing in the original case. He said he doesn’t want that hearing to be held until after their bail jumping cases conclude.
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For background, read “Foxworths: Local law enforcement to go pick up parents of boy in neglect case” from Thursday November 16, 2017, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter