One man is in custody after a four year old boy was discovered to have ingested methamphetamine following reports of a child abuse call.
Carson City deputies responded to a child abuse welfare check around 5:43 p.m. Friday near the 1900 block of Molly Drive for a child with presumed mental illness. Once transported to the Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center emergency room, it was discovered by medical personnel the child had ingested, and tested positive for an unknown amount of meth. A toxicology screen showed the child was actively high on meth and Sheriff Ken Furlong said the child was suffering from various hallucinations and other symptoms typically associated with methamphetamine effects.
The child’s father and mother were taken into the Sheriff’s Office for questioning. The father, Pedro Montanez, 27, was taken into custody at 7:54 p.m., where he was charged with child endangerment and possession of trafficking levels of a controlled substance. A criminal history disclosed Montanez had previously been deported from the United States.
Deputies searched the family’s residence and found one ounce of meth among other items.
The child has been given to Child Protective Services and is under hospital care until a safety plan can be implemented, said Furlong. The mother of the child was not taken into custody, and officials don’t believe the mother would be charged because she has no criminal history and she’s insisting on giving a drug test to prove she’s clean. The mother and Montanez are not married.
Furlong said both parents are being cooperative.
The investigation is still pending and active.