Dad Gave Kid Coke, Said It Was Candy: Cops
Father allegedly stashed drugs in kid's coat after run-in with cops
By JENNIFER MILLMAN
Updated 1:22 PM EST, Sat, Sep 19, 2009
A father faces charges after a 4-year-old child swallowed cocaine, apparently thinking it was candy, cops said.
Three boys and one girl – all 4-years-old – were taken to Beth Israel Hospital from the Clinton Avenue Daycare Center in Newark, New Jersey, yesterday after a teacher noticed one of the kids had a small plastic baggie in her mouth. Upon closer inspection, the teacher saw the baggie contained a white powdery substance and called emergency personnel.
One of the kids taken to the hospital told authorities his father gave him the baggies and said they were packets of candy. When cops looked through the child's jacket pockets, they found more baggies, containing what they later determined to be cocaine.
The child’s father, identified as 25 year-old Shaheed Wright of East Orange, apparently stashed the drugs in his son's pocket after a near brush with police, cops said. Then the child distributed the drugs in his pocket to classmates when they asked him for candy.
Fortunately, only one of the four kids brought to the hospital for evaluation had actually ingested the cocaine, tests revealed. The child has since been treated and released.
Cops arrested the father in his East Orange apartment and charged him with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.
DYFS has been notified and will conduct an independent investigation into the incident, cops said.
First Published: Sep 19, 2009 8:46 AM EST
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