Gabriel Antonio Santos-Funes and Maria Valladares face charges including misdemeanor child abuse following the incident at a home on Mahogany Drive. The children, ages 14, 11, 5 and 3, were inside when officers arrived. One child told officers she did not feel comfortable staying there, according to the account of the incident.

Police said the home contained destroyed furniture, broken glass, large knives and blow-torch lighters accessible in the living area. Officers had been dispatched after neighbors reported loud screaming and raised concerns about the adults’ behavior. A caller told authorities the occupants were burning items and performing what the caller described as black-magic rituals, court documents say. That account is an allegation, not an independently established explanation for the incident.

Police also alleged that Valladares tried to bite officers and that Santos-Funes took an officer’s baton and attempted to strike him. Officers reported that Santos-Funes tried to rub garlic on them and on a Bible.

Neighbors said the police response was unexpected. Amber Robins described the area as usually quiet. Anna Jennings said there had been yelling and that furniture had been left on the lawn since the family moved in a few months earlier.

After the arrests, two of the older children remained at the home with adult family members or guardians. Those adults declined to comment. Santos-Funes and Valladares were taken into custody at a local jail.