Dr. John Barden & GF Melissa Dawn-Runyon Winn neglect animals &kids, skip out on bail

**thehesbomb** · February 26th, 2010, 12:02 AM

A physician and the woman who helped him run a medical clinic they started last year at Devils Lake were taken to jail Wednesday for failing to appear at a hearing last week on child- and animal-neglect charges.

Dr. John H. Barden, 68, and Melissa Dawn-Runyon Wynn, 26, were taken into custody after being arraigned in Lenawee County District Court on contempt charges. Judge James E. Sheridan set a $10,000 bond for each pending a hearing on March 8.

The couple moved to Devils Lake last year from Belleville, where Barden had practiced medicine for years. They opened the Devils Lake Medical Clinic on U.S. 223 last fall.

They were arrested in November when Lenawee County sheriff’s deputies reported finding a collection of animals without adequate food and shelter at their home on Rollin Highway. Deputies also reported finding three young children unattended inside the clinic in an area where they were exposed to used needles, medical wastes and other materials.

The couple and the three children, aged 6 years to 8 months, were living in the clinic because electricity at the Rollin Highway home had been shut off, reports said.

Hearings on the child- and animal-abuse charges were adjourned until Jan. 29, when the case was adjourned again until Feb. 18. When the couple failed to appear last week, warrants were issued on contempt charges. They had been free on $10,000 bonds.

A civil complaint seeking forfeiture to the county of a dog, three horses and 15 chickens seized from the couple’s home is also under way. Barden surrendered his ownership of the animals at a hearing in January. Wynn failed to appear for a hearing earlier this month and a forfeiture was granted.

The children remain in foster care.

http://www.lenconnect.com/news/x5939...e-neglect-case

**TheDepressor** · February 26th, 2010, 12:15 AM

Well, these asswipes certainly are not going to be nominated for Parents of the Year or Animal Lovers of the Year. What filth! Thank God none of the children or animals were injured. Let's throw them in a cell filled with used needles and animal waste! Oh, and no electricity either. See how much they like it! And, talk about a May-December romance! Geesh, he's old enough to be her father and then some! I wonder if he's the daddy. And, way to go judge, let's give a doctor, who must have been somewhat successful if he's been practicing medicine for YEARS, only a $10,000 bail amount. No really, we wouldn't want to make it slightly difficult or even inconvienent for him to post bail.

**Whisper** · June 2nd, 2010, 03:34 PM

ADRIAN, Mich. — A veteran physician who briefly ran a medical clinic at Devils Lake last year pleaded guilty Tuesday to child and animal neglect charges in Lenawee County District Court.
The guilty pleas resolved a long list of charges that have been pending against Dr. John Barden since he and a woman he lived with were arrested Nov. 25 by Lenawee County sheriff’s deputies.
Barden, 68, quietly admitted neglecting animals at his Rollin Highway home and leaving three young children unattended in the Devils Lake Medical Clinic on U.S. 223 at Devils Lake.
[...]
Barden and Melissa Dawn-Runyon Wynn, 27, have both already spent time in jail for failing to appear for a hearing in February.
The couple were charged with felony counts of cruelty to 10 or more animals and three misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree child abuse. A sheriff’s deputy was investigating allegedly neglected horses, chickens and a dog at their home when he found the children unattended in the clinic where needles and medical waste was accessible. Reports said the couple and the three children were living in the clinic on Nov. 25 because electricity to the home had been shut off.

Multiple hearings were scheduled and adjourned before Barden’s case was resolved with a plea agreement Tuesday. Attorney Michael Carelli of Bloomfield Hills told the court all other charges were to be dismissed by the Lenawee County prosecutor’s office if Barden pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts.

Barden admitted he failed to provide food and shelter to the animals and to leaving his son, who was eight months old at the time, in the care of Wynn’s two other children, the oldest being 6 at the time.
Barden left a 35-year practice in Belleville to start the clinic at Devils Lake last year. He returned to the Detroit area after the clinic was closed following his arrest last fall.

Wynn is scheduled for a hearing June 8 before Koselka on animal cruelty and child abuse charges still pending against her. She also has a hearing set for June 9 in circuit court on a felony absconding on bond charge.

http://www.lenconnect.com/news/x1332...l-neglect-case