UPDATE: Loaded gun, animal feces and no food found in home of man accused of choking 6-year-old boy, police say

A Wonder Lake man accused of choking a 6-year-old boy also faces charges that allege he endangered three more children by leaving a loaded handgun in the open and allowing the children to live in a home that had no food in the pantry and animal feces on the floor, court records show.

Jason L. Lamb, 37, of the 7800 block of East Maplewood Drive, was released from the McHenry County Jail on Wednesday afternoon after posting $5,000 bail.

McHenry County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Lamb on Monday on charges of child endangerment, domestic battery and aggravated domestic battery. If convicted of the most serious charge, aggravated domestic battery, Lamb would face between three and seven years in prison.

A warrant has been issued for Lamb’s wife, Jennifer Lamb, who also is charged with child endangerment and reckless conduct, according to a news release from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation is ongoing.

Lamb is accused in an eight-page criminal complaint of placing his hands around a 6-year-old boy’s neck and choking the child on Sept. 15. The relationship between Lamb and the child was not immediately clear. Representatives from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment.

Jason Lamb also is accused of endangering the lives and health of four children, including the 6-year-old boy, by allowing them to live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, court records show.

The Department of Children and Family Services immediately removed the children from the home and placed them with a family member, according to a news release from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers were alerted to the Lambs' home on Oct. 30. A concerned anonymous caller contacted police at
1:30 p.m. that day seeking a well-being check on several children in the 7800 block of East Maplewood Drive, according to the release.

When they arrived, officers discovered “a large amount of rotting garbage outside the residence,” according to the release.

“Deputies made contact with Jason and Jennifer Lamb, who both appeared intoxicated,” according to the release. “Deputies observed that the inside of the house was also covered in rotting garbage, debris, animal feces, and there was no food in the pantry.”

Officers additionally discovered animal feces on the floor of the home and noted in their complaint that there was no food in the pantry, no working smoke detectors and no clean clothes for the children.

Lamb also is alleged to have left a loaded and unsecured 9 mm semi-automatic handgun on the bed of an unlocked master bedroom in the home, court records show. Police ultimately found and seized two firearms that were located in areas accessible to the children, according to the release.

A McHenry County judge on Wednesday appointed Jason Lamb an attorney from the McHenry County Public Defender’s Office.

The husband and wife live at the Maplewood home with their four children, ages 4, 6, 8 and 10 years old, court records show.

As a condition of his bond, Jason Lamb is barred from having any contact with the children and cannot stay at the home where the children reside, court records show.

He’s expected back in court Friday morning at the McHenry County courthouse in Woodstock.