Supporters of a Joshua Tree couple who face child cruelty charges carried signs outside the courthouse today saying the Daniel Panico and Mona Kirk are being punished for being poor.
The couple was arrested last month after a sheriff's deputy discovered that Kirk and her three children had been living under a ramshackle trailer. Supporters of the two parents say they are good people who simply could not afford to live any better. They say that prosecutors are dragging out the case that should be dropped immediately.
The Joshua Tree Superior Court judge denied a request to drop charges against Kirk and Panico, and the couple is due back in court next week.
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