Cops responding to a domestic dispute in Queens Sunday found a squalid apartment filled with endangered children, abused pit bulls, dangerous snakes and a lizard.
Jasean Holmes, 29, was arrested after quarreling with his wife at the rundown apartment in Richmond Hill, where cops reported seeing evidence of animal cruelty and danger to the four children.
The wife, whose name was not released, was taken in for questioning.
Sources said cops have been called to the house dozens of times for domestic disputes but never arrested the father because his wife would not press charges.
But this time, sources said, Holmes tangled with his wife after an EMS unit had arrived for a separate emergency and crew members allegedly witnessed the attack.
The EMS crew had arrived at the home at around 8 a.m. following a call that someone had been bitten by a dog.
They saw the couple squabbling outside and called police when Holmes allegedly started beating his wife and kicking one of the dogs.
Cops found four kids, ages 7 through 11, in their apartment, along with five adult pit bulls, 10 pit bull puppies, two boa constrictors and a lizard.
Holmes was charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child, aggravated cruelty to animals, torturing or injuring animals, as well as assault for allegedly hitting his wife.
It was unclear whether the woman would face charges.
Neighbors at the three-family house on 125th Street said that the couple was always fighting and that they would abuse the dogs and kids.
“They’re always fighting and beating each other up,” a neighbor said, adding that cops had to pull the couple apart in the Sunday dust-up.
“It’s a nonstop thing. He was still hitting her, and they grabbed him. They put them in two cars, and they were still fighting. I went over and talked to cops, and he was cursing me. He’s crazy.”
Another neighbor said Holmes would put snakes on the children if they misbehaved and would beat the dogs if they didn’t do tricks on command.
Cops found the apartment littered with debris and dog feces.
They took the children to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
The children were placed in the temporary custody of the city’s Administration for Children’s Services.
The city’s Animal Care and Control department removed the animals and will care for them while the matter is investigated, an official said.
A neighbor said that when one of the snakes would get stuck up a tree, Holmes would send one of the children to climb up and get it.
“If you walk down the street, the dogs run after you,” said neighbor Raj Singh, 46. “They bark at everybody. They leave poop everywhere.”