A Texas trio was arrested after police discovered fentanyl in the diaper bag of a 19-day-old infant and found that smoke from the drug had been “intentionally blown into” the baby’s face to stop her from crying.
The Taylor County Narcotics Division was conducting a traffic stop on a vehicle containing four individuals and a baby on January 25 when “agents discovered the presence of Fentanyl in both the vehicle and the baby’s diaper bag.”
As the Daily Mail reports, officers made “the chilling discovery of 56 fentanyl pills,” along with burnt foils, smoking pipes, and straws used for smoking in the car.
Upon further investigation, police found that Robert Mason, 33, Jennifer Trevino, 32, and Aracely Rocha, 22, had allegedly been smoking fentanyl in a hotel room while multiple kids were present.
The three suspects, a fourth adult, and four children were all living in the Frontier Inn & Suites hotel in Abilene, according to an arrest affidavit that the Daily Mail obtained.
“It was also discovered that Fentanyl smoke had been intentionally blown into the 19-day-old baby’s face to pacify her cries over the past several days,” the agency said in a statement.
According to the affidavit, the fourth unnamed adult “did nothing to prevent or stop the children from being exposed to the fentanyl smoke [that] filled the environment.”
Mason and Trevino were determined to be the parents of the newborn, who was “having difficulty breathing” when she was removed from her parents’ care.
She was rushed to Hendrick Medical Center’s emergency room, where the other three children were also examined.
“All occupants were brought to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office,” the police statement reads, adding that Child Protective Services took custody of “all children involved,” including the infant.
All three suspects were charged with four counts of second-degree felony child abandonment and endangerment and were transported to the Taylor County Jail, where they remain on bonds totaling over $100,000 each.
It is unclear if the fourth alleged accomplice will be charged.
The trio’s arrest occurred just days before federal officials arrested two Mexican drivers who attempted to cross into the U.S. through Nogales, Arizona, in a commercial bus carrying nearly 483 pounds of fentanyl.
The arrest occurred on January 27 at the Dennis DeConcini port of entry “after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred a bus traveling from Mexico to Los Angeles to a secondary inspection area,” reports NewsNation.
“Court records show officers found 92 packages weighing 219.2 kilos and containing small blue pills testing positive for fentanyl. Further inspection revealed a plastic bag concealed in the driver’s dashboard holding $11,010 in cash.”
FLASHBACK: Feds Seize Near-record 1.5 Tons Of Meth, Fentanyl, Heroin At California Border Crossing