Mother in Custody After Child Dies Following Fentanyl Exposure

(KNSI) — A St. Cloud woman is jailed and charged with second-degree manslaughter – culpable negligence after her toddler allegedly died following exposure to fentanyl.

According to the criminal complaint, just before 11:00 p.m. April 25th, the child, its mother, identified in court papers as 24-year-old Jamacy Johnson, and her boyfriend, identified in court records as 27-year-old Malik Carter, arrived at St. Cloud Hospital via rideshare saying the baby had ingested a Benadryl tablet, became sleepy and stopped breathing. The child was placed on life support, and an initial toxicology screen showed no trace of Benadryl. On the morning of April 26th, at around 10:30 or 11:00, Johnson and Carter left the hospital, saying they would return, but they never did. Hospital staff called the police to say the child had suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage and was unresponsive and not expected to survive.

Officers say they went to the apartment where Johnson lived to conduct a welfare check on a five-year-old and found that Johnson and Carter both had outstanding warrants for their arrest and Carter had a domestic abuse no contact order out against Johnson. They were both taken into custody. The five-year-old was reportedly in the care of another family member.

According to court papers, officers executed a search warrant at the apartment and found a plastic bag with two blue pills marked with an M on one side and a 30 on the other. Officers say the pills commonly contain a deadly amount of fentanyl. They were lying on a desk “accessible to a toddler.” They also found what appeared to be powder and a rolled up dollar bill, cards used to assist in crushing up pills and small pieces of foil commonly used to ingest fentanyl. Tests concluded that the pills did contain fentanyl.

A “cell phone extraction” was completed on April 27th and allegedly showed communication from Johnson and another number lining up fentanyl purchases on several occasions in the days leading up to April 25th. It also showed an internet search for “baby pill overdose,” “unresponsive child took pills,” and “child unresponsive CPR.” Time stamps for the searches were done at around 9:35 p.m. and 9:44 p.m., but they didn’t call for the rideshare until 10:42 p.m. and arrived at the hospital at 10:53 p.m. Investigators also say they found pictures and videos on the phone taken just before 5:00 a.m. April 26th of Johnson smoking something off a piece of tinfoil while in a St. Cloud Hospital bathroom.

The child died on April 27th. Blood samples taken at the hospital before any drugs were administered by medical staff showed the presence of fentanyl. A toxicology screen conducted by the medical examiner as part of an autopsy and returned several weeks later showed the cause and manner of death as accidental fentanyl toxicity.

Johnson was charged on September 28th and allegedly failed to show up for her first court appearance on October 31st. A warrant was issued for her arrest on November 3rd. Jail records show she was booked into the Stearns County jail on January 18th. Judge Kris Davick-Halfin set unconditional bail at $150,000.

Last month, St. Cloud police issued a dire warning about the dangers of the drug after 16 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in 2022, including the toddler.

___