To be honest, the only reason we requested the arrest report for Bruce Nicholas Wardell was because we were so impressed/terrified by his epic mullet. What he allegedly did to get arrested is just as horrific as his frizzy "party in the back."
Wardell was arrested Tuesday and is currently charged with one count each of child abuse and failure to comply with a court order for hiding a 6-year-old girl from Child Protective Services by stuffing her into a storage compartment that was hidden under a bed in his home at 3619 North 48th Drive in Phoenix.
In addition to stuffing the girl in the tiny storage compartment, Wardell allegedly watched porn in front of the girl as his girlfriend -- the 6-year-old's mother -- Latease Coddington, who also lived in Wardell's house, shot up some sort of injectable drug.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, CPS has been trying to locate the girl for over a month after receiving reports of drug use (and porn viewings) at the home.
The girl was able to tell CPS that she watched her mother shooting up, and saw Wardell watch porn right in front of her.
CPS
obtained a court order to have the girl removed from the house, but
every time they went to get her, Wardell claimed she wasn't there.
CPS
then filed a missing person report on the girl -- but that was before
learning of the secret compartment where the girl was being stashed
every time authorities came to the house.
At one point, Coddington was on the phone with her mother, who overheard
her 6-year-old granddaughter talk about having to hide in the storage
compartment because police were at the house.
The grandmother told CPS, which called police, who "immediately" surrounded Wardell's house Tuesday afternoon.
Once inside, police found Wardell, who told the cops he was the only
person in the house. The authorities found the girl hidden in the
storage compartment, and Coddington hiding in a small crawl space.
Coddington also was hit with the same charges Wardell currently faces:
one count each of failure to comply with a court order, and child abuse.
As of yesterday afternoon, Wardell was released on bond, while Coddington remains in a Maricopa County jail.
