Md. Couple Indicted After Son Drinks Methadone
SEVERN, Md. (WJZ) --A young Anne Arundel County child nearly dies after drinking methadone, and police find a slew of dangerous drugs in his parents' home.
Mike Hellgren has more on what was found and the child's condition.
Charging documents paint a very disturbing picture of what happened to that little boy.
Police call it child abuse and neglect. They charge 28-year-old Paul Brooks Sr. and his wife Kimberly with felonies that could land them in prison for more than 100 years after authorities say they left methadone in an open cup in their truck—and their 5-year-old son grabbed it, drank it and stopped breathing.
"People who've read about this, who will hear about this, will be as outraged as we are that two parents put their child in a position that this child was in. This child very easily could have been killed," said Thomas Fleckenstein, deputy state's attorney.
According to charging documents, the little boy had a faint pulse and was rushed to the hospital.
Authorities issued a search warrant at the couple's Severn home. There they found two loaded, unsecured guns with children's toys scattered nearby.
Police also say they found cocaine, heroin and meth in the home.
WJZ got no response when we knocked on the door Friday afternoon. But we did notice plenty of cameras in the home, spotting one in the window and one near the door.
Police believe the couple was selling drugs. Neighbors say the two kept to themselves.
"I'm astonished. I mean, I don't know what to say," said Shirley Fewster, neighbor. "They didn't have anything to with anybody around here. The child would run around a lot out here. I never knew what went on here."
Investigators say the child's father told them he got the methadone illegally at Lexington Market in Baltimore City.
His son did survive and is now out of the hospital.
"Just an absolutely terrifying and unsuitable environment for a child, and obviously one that authorities reacted to quickly and took seriously," Fleckenstein said.
The parents have been released from custody pending a trial date. That date has yet to be set.
The little boy did receive CPR before being taken to the hospital.
