Dispute Over Mother’s Release Follows Standoff

A judge agreed to free a woman whose arrest last week prompted her children to hunker down in their home for five days, but the woman’s attorney said she refused to leave jail under the judge’s terms.

Judge Barbara Buchanan said she would release JoAnn Dunn McGuckin if she agrees to not violate custodial orders involving six of her children and not to contact them without authorization. McGuckin’s lawyer, Bryce Powell, told the judge: “My client demands dismissal of the charges and child protection proceedings and an apology. She will not leave the jail at this time.”

McGuckin is accused of failing to provide the children with adequate food and shelter. Prosecutors said they would not drop charges or apologize.