A 27-year-old Liberty woman is the first to be charged in DeKalb County under a state law passed last year prohibiting pregnant women from using illegal drugs.
Lindsey Paulette Davenport of Liberty has been charged with assaulting a viable fetus as the victim, a misdemeanor offense. According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, Davenport gave birth to a baby boy whose urine tested positive for opiates on Jan 21. Blood drawn from the umbilical cord tested positive for Suboxone, Methadone, and Morphine.
The law went into effect July 1, 2014, and allows prosecutors to pursue criminal assault charges against women who give birth to children who are addicted or suffer other injuries because of the mother’s drug use.
Davenport’s bond was set at $2,500, and she will appear in court on April 9.
Meanwhile, Andrew Wesley Wilbert, 36, of Dowelltown has been charged with driving under the influence, cited for violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance), and cited for violation of the implied consent law.
The sheriff said a deputy dispatched to a traffic accident on Petty Road spoke with Wilbert, who had wrecked his truck. Wilbert allegedly had a strong odor of alcohol on his person, was unsteady on his feet, and his speech was slurred. He reportedly refused to submit to a blood test, but underwent field sobriety tasks and performed poorly.
His bond was set at $1,500, and he will appear in court on April 16.
Jennie Nelson, 26, has been cited for violation of registration, simple possession of a Schedule III drug (Suboxone), and possession of drug paraphernalia (hypodermic needle).
Ray said a sheriff’s department detective stopped Nelson’s 1995 Cadillac Deville on Highway 56 North for failure to maintain lane of travel. While Nelson was showing the detective her medications, he reportedly saw a hypodermic needle in her bag.
Nelson allegedly told the officer that she had used the needle the previous night. The sheriff said a search of her purse revealed a Suboxone Strip, a Schedule III drug. She reportedly could not produce a prescription for the strip or the needle.
