Officer Resigns After Investigation Of 2-Year-Old Death

None — A Gaston County probation officer resigned Wednesday afternoon, exactly one month after Department of Corrections officials began investigating whether he ignored pleas for help from the relatives of a 2-year-old child who died in a motel room.

Probation Officer Carlton Whit Ogg tendered his resignation before DOC investigators could hand down any punishment.

Police said two-year-old Addison Lanham, 2, died in July from an infection and a broken leg. Addison's mother, Shanna Lanham, and her boyfriend, Jason Wells, are charged with manslaughter.

Kim Wells, Jason Wells' cousin, provided Eyewitness News on July 31 with a Facebook email exchange between herself and Officer Ogg.

She told Eyewitness News she called Ogg several times but her messages weren't returned, so she found him on Facebook. She wrote things including "I don't know if that baby is eating;" "Shanna is strung out on crack and Xanax;" "Addison her daughter doesn't have any clothes;" and "Please help Addison."

"Why wouldn't you be concerned about an infant not eating? And drugs being used in front of them? Why would you not go check?" Kim Wells said last month.

In the Facebook exchange, Ogg responded one time, asking Wells how she knew about the alleged drug use.

After Addison's death, family members provided Eyewitness News with a copy of the messages, and on August 1 the Department of Corrections opened an internal investigation.

On August 19, a DOC spokesman said the internal review was complete and that officials were reviewing possible consequences.

On Wednesday, Officer Ogg resigned, but before investigators handed down any potential punishment. It's unclear if Ogg would be able to keep his pension and benefits because he resigned.

Lanham's cousin, Stacey Drewey, said says she's glad Ogg is no longer a probation officer but is disappointed with the process.

"He's going to walk away without anything happening to him. He resigned from his job, and he can go out and get another job somewhere else," Drewey said. "There's no punishment. He's going to get away scot-free because he handed in his resignation."

Eyewitness News stopped by Ogg's house, but he wasn't home.

Both Shanna Lanham and Jason Wells are charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse.

Shanna Lanham will have a court hearing in Gaston County on Friday for a probation violation. Jason Wells was recently transferred to a prison in Raleigh. Family members said that's because he was receiving death threats and officers feared for his safety.

WSOC