By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — A judge agreed Wednesday to grant supervised visits with the children of a couple charged in March with making their children live in filthy conditions and not feeding their pets.
David Lore Jr., 37, and Angela Lore, 35, of 3435 Rockwell Road, were each charged in March with four counts of child abuse, four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and three counts of animal cruelty.
During a hearing in Rowan County District Court on Wednesday, the judge also set a Sept. 21 date for their trial on those and other charges.
In March investigators found the family living in filthy conditions that included piles of trash inside and outside the home.
The Lores’ four children had never been to school. The children, ages 7, 9, 14 and 16, were placed in the custody of Rowan Social Services and are living with family.
The Lores were in district court Wednesday, but did not speak during the brief hearing, which was held to modify their conditions of release. The couple requested to be allowed to see their youngest children.
A Social Services case worker told District Court Judge Charlie Brown the couple could see their two youngest children.
Brown granted permission only if the District Attorney’s Office and the case worker agreed to the terms. Both parties agreed.
Conditions to the visits include that they must be at the Department of Social Services offices, must be scheduled by a case worker and must be supervised.
During their search of the home in March, investigators also found prescription pills and other drug paraphernalia. The couple were charged in May with possessing several kinds of prescription pills, including Klonopin, hydrocodeine and Xanax.
Investigators also found a smoking pipe and scales and a small amount of salvia, a psychedelic herb that’s illegal in North Carolina but legal in some other states.
In April, David Lore was charged with two counts of felony assault by strangulation.
An arrest warrant said Lore reportedly grabbed his son, David Edward Lore III, around the neck, cutting off his airway, in 2009.
The couple own Pet Place, a pet store on South Main Street. The business survived the fire that destroyed the Webb Road Flea Market last year.
Reached after the hearing Wednesday, David Lore declined to comment.
“As long as the case is ongoing we’ve been advised not to talk,” he said.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.