A Bismarck police detective testified that an officer initially thought someone had thrown a garbage can across Dwayne and Sharee Hanson's home while responding to a child abuse and neglect report on Nov. 9, but garbage was scattered throughout the house.

Bismarck Police Detective Glen Ternes testified Monday during a preliminary hearing that Officer Nolan Canright thought some sort of domestic dispute had taken place at the home and someone had tossed a garbage can across the room. However, Canright and other officers found garbage, clothing, food, dirty diapers and other rubbish strewn through the home upon further inspection, Ternes said.

South Central District Judge Tom Schneider found probable cause for three child abuse or neglect charges against Dwayne Hanson and two against Sharee Hanson after a brief preliminary hearing Monday afternoon. The couple each pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Both defendants are charged with two counts of Class Cfelony child abuse or neglect for the conditions of the home, in which their daughters, 9 years old and 17 months old, lived with them. Dwayne Hanson faces an additional charge for allegedly hitting the 9-year-old girl in the head when she tried to eat cupcakes, even though she wasn't supposed to eat much sugar.

Ternes, who was never in the house, said the photographs taken by other officers displayed "one of the worst (home conditions) I've ever seen.

"It looked, to me, like the floor would have been awfully sticky," he said.

Kent Morrow, an attorney for Sharee Hanson, argued that the charges against his client should be dismissed because her doctor had ordered her to bed rest in the weeks preceding Nov. 9. Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Julie Lawyer said such a defense was "almost laughable" since she would be responsible for her children regardless of her medical condition.

"She had a phone. She could have called a housekeeper," Lawyer said, also noting there was no evidence that she was on bed rest and she answered the door when police arrived.

Dwayne and Sharee Hanson are slated to appear in court again on Feb. 9 for dispositional conferences.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)