PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A young Phoenix mother has been arrested after police say her baby boy ingested fentanyl while in his crib and had to go to the hospital.
Police say 18-year-old Priscilla Caldera faces one count of felony child abuse.
On Monday night, Phoenix police and paramedics responded to a report of a 9-month-old boy who was not breathing. The 9-1-1 caller said the baby had been put into his crib, but then "started to change colors and spit something out of his mouth," according to court documents.
When officers got there, they say they found a number of blue pills marked M-30 inside the crib. The pills were believed to be fentanyl. The child was then rushed to the hospital. On the way, firefighters say they found a blue oval pill inside the baby's mouth, and they administered Narcan. The boy is now in stable condition. But during his medical exam, he was also found to have a skull fracture, according to court documents.
When questioned by police later that night, Caldera told detectives that no one in her family uses fentanyl. However, she did say when she gave a friend a ride the day before, he had left a baggie of blue pills in her car, according to court documents. Police say Caldera told them she took the baggie into her bedroom, which she shares with her 9-month-old twin boys, and placed it on the changing table platform, in reach of the crib.
"She did not know how the pills got into the crib from the platform but knows she should not have left the pills within reach of the victim or the victim's brother," the court documents say. Police say Caldera told them she was not aware of the pills until a patrol officer mentioned they found some.
Caldera's bail has been set at $10,000. She's due back in court on May 3.
