JACKSONVILLE, FL – A 28-year-old Florida mother has been arrested after her infant son tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine, with investigators saying she admitted her drug bag may have fallen out of her backpack onto the child’s play mat.
Hospital Call Sparks Investigation
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies responded around 11:56 p.m. on Sept. 19 to UF Health Hospital in Jacksonville after the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) reported a suspected child neglect case.
Hospital staff told officers the infant had been brought in lethargic and later tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine.
Mother’s Admission
Police identified the mother as Cheyenne Pope, who was present at the hospital. Authorities said Pope admitted to staff she was a drug user and that she kept narcotics in a backpack. She allegedly told investigators that while retrieving items, a drug bag may have fallen onto her son’s play mat.
Pope initially claimed she never saw her child come into contact with the drugs, saying she thought he was only dehydrated when she noticed he was lethargic around 3:30 p.m.
Witness Statements
A woman living at Pope’s residence told police that Pope later confessed she had been using drugs that day and kept them in the same backpack with her child’s bottles and diapers…