Robert Mason, Jennifer Trevino, and Aracely Rocha (Taylor County Sheriff’s Office)
Two women and a man in Texas have been arrested after being accused of intentionally blowing fentanyl smoke in a 19-day-old baby’s face to stop her from crying.
Robert Mason, 33, Jennifer Trevino, 32, and Aracely Rocha, 22, were taken into custody on Thursday and charged with four counts each of second-degree felony child endangerment, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, deputies with the Narcotics Division on Jan. 25 conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle containing four individuals as well as the newborn baby girl after one of the occupants was allegedly seen littering in front of the Frontier Inn & Suites in Abilene, Texas, where they were all staying.
A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in agents allegedly discovering fentanyl inside the vehicle as well as in the 19-day-old girl’s diaper bag.
The search revealed “56 fentanyl pills and multiple items of drug paraphernalia commonly used for smoking fentanyl,” according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE Magazine.
The occupants were then taken to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, where detectives questioned them.
Deputies contacted Child Protective Services, which responded to the sheriff’s office and took custody of the child.
During the interviews, investigators said they learned that the three suspects had been in their hotel room — where four children were also staying with them — and the adults had regularly been smoking fentanyl in front of the kids. The group reportedly had two adjoining rooms in the hotel.
“It was also discovered that fentanyl smoke had been intentionally blown into the 19-day-old baby’s face to pacify her cries over the past several days,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the release.
The affidavit provided additional details about the allegations against the trio.
“Interviews revealed three of the four adults were actively involved in smoking fentanyl in the presence of the children for at least the last two days,” the document reportedly states. “Interviews also revealed the adults had knowledge of at least one of the adults blowing fentanyl smoke into the face of the infant to get the child to stop crying.”
Authorities said they observed that the newborn “was having difficulty breathing” and had her taken to a hospital for evaluation along with the other three children.
Mason, Trevino, and Rocha were booked into the Taylor County Jail. Trevino and Rocha are held on $100,000 bond. Mason, who was charged with an additional count of third-degree felony obstruction, is held on $105,000 bond.
It is not clear whether any of the defendants have retained attorneys or if they have court dates scheduled.
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