Toddler hospitalized after drinking cup of crystal meth
A 1-year-old girl is being hospitalized after drinking a cup of crystal methamphetamine that was left in a hotel room in Smyrna by her mother’s boyfriend, according to a criminal warrant.
The boyfriend, Lorenzo Harris, was arrested and his charges include second-degree child cruelty, trafficking methamphetamine, intent to distribute marijuana, intent to distribute cocaine and felony possession of a firearm. He is being held at the Cobb County Jail.
The children’s mother, Shantonia Heard, was also arrested.
The warrant states Harris left a Styrofoam cup of crystal meth on the top of a dresser drawer in the room. The child drank the cup and began acting erratically and scratching herself feverishly. The girl was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where she tested positive for ingesting meth.
Smyrna Police said a toxicology scan confirmed the child had meth in her system.
“With the detrimental effects of crystal meth, it was very dangerous to the child, we’re just fortunate the child didn’t take enough that it was fatal,” said Smyrna Police Office Louis Defense.
Authorities seized firearms, cocaine and a large amount of marijuana and rolling papers from the hotel room, the warrant said. The woman’s 3-year-old son was also in the room at the time of the incident. Police believe both children were also exposed to marijuana smoke.
“There was an odor of marijuana in the room and we assumed the children were in that environment and they inhaled the marijuana smoke,” said Officer Defense.
Harris was found with more than $9,200 on him, the warrant said.
Authorities searched Harris’s car and discovered three firearms, including an assault rifle, a second container of meth, a large amount of marijuana, two bags of crack cocaine, several clear baggies and a scale.
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