Infant Found With Meth, Fentanyl In System; Parents Charged

KEY POINTS

A Minnesota couple was each charged with two counts of child endangerment
Their 8-month-old child was found with methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system
The mother admitted she and the father had used heroin and fentanyl on the day the child was found unresponsive

Minnesota -- The mother and father of an 8-month-old boy in Blaine, Minnesota, have been charged with child endangerment after the infant was found with methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system.

Luke Adam Thomas, 30, and Bailey Nicole Hansen, 23, were each charged with two counts of child endangerment Friday in Anoka County, CBS News reported.

Blaine police responded to an emergency call about a child in distress on April 30, according to the complaint.

When they arrived at the address, they found an 8-month-old boy who was initially unresponsive. The emergency intervention helped stabilize the child before he was brought to a hospital for medical attention.

A medical screening helped determine that the infant's urine had methamphetamine and fentanyl. Both substances can cause distress in very small doses in a small child, the charges stated.

Authorities searched the house. They discovered that it was littered with tin foil and found an assortment of pills and drug paraphernalia.

A search of the father’s car revealed that there was marijuana inside it, according to the documents.

The mother admitted on May 4 that she and the father had used heroin and fentanyl on the day the child was found unresponsive. Hansen also told authorities that she had used drugs every day since February.

The boy was placed in a foster care setting and has remained there since.

In a similar incident, a 15-month-old child in Colorado died of a fentanyl overdose while in his home last year, KKTV reported.

Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) said they responded to a call for a dead child on Nov. 12, 2021.

The child's parents, Joenny Astacio and Kira Villalba, were both under the influence of fentanyl at the time the child passed away, officers said.

Authorities found other drug paraphernalia and illegal narcotics in the home.

A warrant for both Astacio and Villalba was issued by the Crimes Against Children Unit Detectives on June 10. Both are facing charges related to child abuse knowingly/recklessly in a death.