OAKLAND – A toddler who overdosed on cocaine was hospitalized Thursday, and her parents were arrested, police said.

The 18-month-old girl was in stable condition late Thursday afternoon at Thayer Campus, MaineGeneral Medical Center, in Waterville, said police Capt. Rick Stubbert.

“This is why we do drug enforcement,” Stubbert said. “This is an innocent victim of parents’ carelessness and irresponsible actions on a defenseless victim.”

Police were still investigating details of the case Thursday night, but Stubbert said that from information they gathered, it appears the girl was playing unsupervised and got into the cocaine.

Both parents were in the same room as the child at the time, he said.

“The baby did get into the cocaine, the baby did ingest the cocaine, they found that the baby had gotten into the cocaine and called 911 some time later,” Stubbert said. “A lot of it’s still under investigation.”

Stubbert said one of the parents appeared remorseful.

“Mom is very distraught,” he said. “I wouldn’t say the dad is.”

The girl’s father, Justin Currier, 30, of 25 Belgrade Road, was charged with a probation violation and taken to the Kennebec County jail in Augusta after the incident, Stubbert said. The probation violation prohibits Currier from being released.

The mother, Jillian Jones, 21, also of 25 Belgrade Road, was charged with felony child endangerment, possession of cocaine and destruction of physical evidence because she destroyed the cocaine before police arrived, Stubbert said.

Jones was released on $10,000 unsecured bail, he said.

Stubbert said he expects Currier to be charged today with the same offenses that Jones was charged with Thursday.

The Waterville Communications Center got a 911 call at 10:57 a.m. from Jones, who said the baby had swallowed cocaine and was not breathing, according to Stubbert. Police and rescue workers were dispatched to the third-floor apartment where Currier, Jones and their child live.

Stubbert, Police Chief Michael Tracy, Officer David Savage and Sgt. Jerry Haynes arrived with rescue workers.

“The baby was actually alert and breathing by the time we got there,” Stubbert said. “The baby was transported (to Thayer), has been admitted, and the baby is in stable condition.”

No other children were in the apartment when police arrived, he said.

MaineGeneral spokeswoman Diane Peterson said the hospital cannot release information about the condition of minors without parental consent.

Police called officials from the state Department of Health and Human Services about the case.

Stubbert said, “They will ultimately make the decision” about whether the child will be taken from her parents.

 

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