THP Trooper Finds Children in Back of a Moving Truck
TRENTON, Tenn. – Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Baron Cooper said the moment he pulled over the U-Haul truck heading east on Interstate 40 he knew something felt wrong. “I just felt like there was some sort of criminal activity going on with just the way they were acting,” he said. Trooper Baron Cooper said he initially pulled the driver over, Wednesday afternoon because the driver was failing to stay in one lane. That is when he heard screaming coming from the back of the moving truck. Cooper asked to search the truck and found two five- year-olds, one nine-year-old girl and one 13-year-old male. “When they saw me their first comment was they didn’t want their mother going to jail,” he said. Thursday, Joseph Horwath, 47, and Tressa Morris, 34, were each charged with two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment. The third passenger, Jose Cecina was arrested due to an outstanding warrant out of Texas for robbery. Cooper said the temperatures were near freezing when he found the children. He said they had no way of communicating with the adults up front in the cab. Horwath and Morris could both face up to four years behind bars. Jackson resident, Patricia Smith said while she hoped Morris gets her children back, she hoped she learns her lesson. “Maybe she should get some parenting classes. She broke the law that’s wrong. There ain’t no excuse for that,” she said. Cooper said the group was moving from Texas to Ohio and told him they could not afford a more suitable way to transport the children. Cooper said a crash with the children back there could have been fatal. Jackson resident William Bodd said adults are supposed to protect children, not put them in harm’s way. “I’m sure they were having some financial problems, the reason why they were doing that. But you’re talking about children’s lives, so there’s no excuse for that,” he said. The children were taken into custody of the state. The Madison County Children Protective Services were unable to comment on the current investigation.
