7-Month-Old Florida Infant Found With Methamphetamine In System, Parents Charged With Neglect

The parents of an infant in Florida were arrested after the child ingested methamphetamine. The incident took place Tuesday (June 16).

According to local reports, when the 7-month-old infant was with a babysitter, the parents, identified as 33-year-old Jessica Lorina Leclair and 35-year-old Travis Levi Hendricks, crushed a small rock of meth inside a $5 bill. They then placed it on a table and snorted it through a straw. The following day, the father was watching over the infant in the bedroom on the bed. When he looked away for a moment, the child took money out of his wallet and spread it out on the bed, including the $5 bill. Shortly after, the child began gasping for air and soon became unresponsive.

Emergency personnel responded to the home and rushed the infant to a nearby hospital. Doctors confirmed that the infant did not have any apparent physical injuries. A toxicology report, however, revealed that meth was found in the infant’s system. The child was then transported to another hospital for further treatment.

Following an investigation, the parents were taken into custody and charged with child neglect. Speaking to News4Jax, Hendricks’ sister, Casey, said the infant has been discharged from the hospital and is in a family member’s care.

“I just hope that this opens eyes for some people. It doesn’t take but a second for things to go wrong and for things to go terribly worse,” she told the channel. The incident was being investigated by the Department of Children and Families.

The incident comes two months after a Colorado couple was arrested after their toddler daughter died of a fentanyl overdose. Police responded to a motel room and found the 2-year-old girl dead. The officers searched the motel room and found drugs in the trash can. Toxicology reports revealed that fentanyl was found in her system and her death was ruled as an accidental fentanyl overdose. Following this, the parents were arrested and charged with child abuse resulting in death.

In another incident earlier this year, an infant’s mother and grandmother were arrested after the child was hospitalized following a possible drug overdose in California. The grandmother brought the infant to the hospital after seeing "abnormal behavior” and tests revealed that she was exposed to drugs. Both the women were charged with child endangerment.