PORT RICHEY, Fla. — After a monthslong investigation, Pinellas County deputies were able to arrest a man and woman accused of exposing their two children to drugs.
It began on June 10 when deputies responded to a home in Dunedin for reports of an unresponsive 2-year-old child, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Deputies arrived and noticed the child had labored breathing.
The child's parents, Jessica Ceron, 36, and Dexter Evans, 38, both from Port Richey, were in the home at the time of the call, authorities say. The child was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
From that day, numerous medical tests were conducted and detectives determined the child tested positive for fentanyl.
"The child went into respiratory arrest and required several doses of Narcan," the sheriff's office said.
As deputies continued to investigate, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office also learned that a second child in the home, a 1-year-old, also showed similar symptoms a couple of days later. An evaluation of that child also resulted in the baby testing positive for fentanyl, according to the sheriff's office.
The sheriff's office says the parents did not seek medical treatment for the second child when they were undergoing similar symptoms.
Following the 1-year-old baby's evaluation, detectives interviewed Ceron and Evans who denied how the children were exposed to fentanyl, the sheriff's office reports.
"Ceron admitted to detectives that on June 7, 2022, she smoked two rolled cigarettes containing what she believed to be the street drug 'Molly,'" authorities said.
She also reportedly told detectives she saw Evans smoke rolled cigarettes with "white powder sprinkled inside it." Authorities say, "Evans told detectives there was a 'spiritual warfare' going on inside the house with 'evil spirits.'" However, he was unable to provide an explanation of how the 1 and 2-year-old children were exposed to drugs.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office arrested Ceron and Evans on Wednesday, Sept. 7, and transported them to the Pinellas County Jail without incident. The two were both charged with two counts of child neglect.
