SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Felony charges have been reduced to misdemeanours for a Southern California couple found with their three children in a makeshift desert shack. Daniel Panico, 73, and Mona Kirk, 51, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to misdemeanour child endangerment and charges related to truancy, according to court records. Panico and Kirk have said they’re not abusive, just poor. Authorities took the kids when the parents were arrested in February near Joshua Tree National Park, about 125 miles (201 kilometres) east of Los Angeles. The children were not enrolled in public school and there was no evidence they were being educated, Bachman said.

Source: National Post May 02, 2018 19:15 UTC