[ad_1]
A Las Vegas man faces felony charges for child abuse and danger after a young relative was rushed to Orange County Hospital after an overdose of fentanyl.
Eric Duane Bird, 41, has been accused of putting potentially deadly drugs in his bag during a family trip to Newport Beach on the weekend of July 4th.
The drugs went into the hands of a 3-year-old relative who was staying in the same short-term rental property as Bird and his wife and children, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The boy is said to have found some drugs and ingested them and overdose with fentanyl. As his desperate parents dial 911, they struggle to breathe and turn blue. The boy was taken to a Children’s Hospital in Orange County and had to be revived with the emergency anti-overdose drug naloxone, commonly known as Narcan.
File – Narcan container, the brand name version of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, will be displayed in Washington on Friday, September 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
The boy also suffered from extreme itching, leading to a medical crew administering epinephrine in an attempt to stop a potentially fatal allergic reaction. However, the boy’s condition improved until he was administered naloxone, at which point he actively tested for fentanyl.
Newport Beach Police Station officials searched the rental property and found a backpack in the bird’s room. This included burning foil, a device for smoking, and a container of fentanyl.
“The backpack on the bedroom floor with the door open allowed access to the 3-year-old and other children in the house throughout the holiday weekend,” the DA’s office said.
Byrd was arrested and later pleaded not guilty to the number of felony cases of child abuse and child risk and the count of misdemeanors to possession of a controlled substance.
If convicted of being charged, he could potentially be up to six years in a state prison. He is currently being held on $100,000 bail.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said his office will actively prosecute fentanyl dealers and users to crack down on potentially fatal consequences of illegal drugs.
“Rememberings from my childhood on July 4th should include firework shows, parades and backyard barbecues, as families were more concerned about addiction than child safety.
[ad_2]Source link
