Five people, including three men, face charges of chemical endangerment of children, according to news releases from Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin.
Chemical endangerment arrests are usually for women who use drugs while they are pregnant. Typically, the women are allowed to go through a drug rehab program designed for mothers. It is an effort, Entrekin has said since the crackdown on exposing the unborn to drugs began a few years ago in Etowah County, to help moms escape addiction and provide a safe home for their children — and for themselves.
These arrests involving men stem from the use of drugs in the presence of children.
David Lamar Lumpkin, 33, of Gadsden, was arrested Dec. 20 and charged with two felony counts of chemical endangerment of exposing a child to an environment in which controlled substances are ingested, produced or distributed. In this case, there were two children involved.
Deputies Josh Gaskin, John Streefkerk and Chris Smith accompanied a Department of Human Resources employee to a residence on Agricola Drive, Gadsden, for a welfare check on two children concerning possible drug use at the house. While inside the residence, a strong marijuana odor and visible smoke were observed by the deputies, according to a news release.
Drug paraphernalia was found in Lumpkin’s bedroom, and he said he had been smoking marijuana.
Lumpkin was taken into custody and booked into the Etowah County Detention Center on $10,000 bond for the chemical endangerment charges. He also faces an outstanding warrant through the Piedmont Police Department.
In an unrelated matter, two Cherokee County men were arrested for driving around using drugs with a young child in the vehicle.
Robert Daniel Borders, 40, and Virgil Todd Matthews, 51, both of Centre, were arrested Thursday, and each charged with one felony count of chemical endangerment of exposing a child to an environment in which controlled substances are ingested, produced or distributed.
During a driver license checkpoint near Paden Road and Nunally Avenue, deputies Kevin Overstreet and Joseph Hutchins observed several visible items of drug paraphernalia and a bag of an illegal drug inside the vehicle that Borders was driving, according to a release. The deputies also noticed both men had marks on their arms that indicted recent drug use.
A 5-year-old child was in the backseat of the vehicle and was not properly using any type of child restraint system. The Etowah County Department of Human Resources was contacted, and the mother was called to take custody of the child, according to investigator Brandi Fuller.
Both Borders and Matthews were taken into custody and are in the Etowah County Detention Center on $10,000 bond for the chemical endangerment charge. They both also face charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia without bond.
In another incident, two women arrested are accused of drug use during pregnancy.
Brittany Nicole Bolan, 26, of Gadsden, was arrested Dec. 29 and charged with one felony count of chemical endangerment of exposing a child to an environment in which controlled substances are ingested, produced or distributed.
Bolan admitted to illegally using drugs while pregnant and tested positive for Suboxone and methamphetamine, Fuller said.
Amber Nicole Phipps, 21, of Gadsden, was arrested on the same day and charged with one felony count of chemical endangerment of exposing a child to an environment in which controlled substances are ingested, produced or distributed.
Phipps admitted to illegally using marijuana while pregnant and tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana, Fuller said.
Both women are detained in the Etowah County Detention Center on $10,000 cash bond for the chemical endangerment charge. As a condition of their bonds, each must successfully complete a drug treatment program and will be supervised by Etowah Community Corrections upon release.