Montgomery County Mother Charged With Introducing Daughter To Heroin
By Walt Hunter
LOWER SALFORD Twp., Pa. (CBS) -- Police say last April, Patricia Davenport took her 15-year-old daughter into the kitchen of the Harleysville apartment where they formerly lived, introducing her to the deadly drug heroin, which she snorted.
Over the next six months it's alleged, Davenport drove her daughter and her daughter's 16-year-old boyfriend to drug corners in Philadelphia more than 100 times, injecting the drug into the two teenagers and herself on the ride home.
On some of the trips, prosecutors say, Davenport brought her eight-year-old son. The little boy, who officials say was not given heroin, asking at one point about the syringe in his mother's hand.
Prosecutors credit a high school classmate with coming forward to report the 15-year-old's suspect drug abuse. According to an arrest warrant, when school officials noticed "track marks" on her arms, they acted immediately, notifying police who began an investigation.
A second suspect, a female friend of Davenport's, is expected to be arraigned on charges Thursday.
Both the 15-year-old and eight-year-old have now been placed with other family members by social service workers.
Following arraignment, Davenport was remanded to Montgomery County prison on $50,000 cash bail.
Police and prosecutors say the case is a clear warning about how widespread the use of heroin has become.
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