LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Two parents were ordered held behind bars on drug and weapons charges Tuesday after police say a baby was exposed to fentanyl in Lawrence.
Jennifer Ouch and McDanner Pereyra, both 27, were arraigned in Lawrence District Court on charges including drug trafficking and illegal possession of ammunition.
Officers responding to a report of a 1-year-old girl who had ingested fentanyl on Osgood Street late Monday night arrested the baby’s parents, Lawrence police said.
The couple initially told investigators that their daughter had consumed a pill that she found on the floor inside an area Target but that story was later proven inaccurate, according to prosecutors.
The couple’s 6-year-old son reportedly stated that his baby sister found a “blue pill” at their home and made a “yucky face” after putting it in her mouth.
“He apologized to detectives for lying to them earlier and stated that he was afraid of what DCF would do if they heard she had found the pill at the home,” prosecutor Mary Ellen Spanos said of Pereyra.
After placing Ouch and Pereyra under arrest, officers searching the home allegedly found a variety of illegal narcotics and ammunition, including more than 40 grams of fentanyl.
The Department of Children and Families has been alerted to the investigation and have taken the children into custody, police said.
Police said the child, who was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, will be OK.
DCF has since taken custody of the children.
Additional charges may be filed against Ouch and Pereyra. They are due back in court next week.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
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