St. Petersburg Mom Arrested After Baby Ends up in ICU Following Suspected Drug Exposure

Tanesha Lanae Newsome All Children's Hospital Drug Exposure

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Oct 10, 07:16 pm

Photo: (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A St. Petersburg mom was arrested on Saturday, October 8, after her baby ended up hospitalized from exposure to suspected narcotics, according to cops. The St. Petersburg Police Department stated the 11-month-old was taken to All Children's Hospital on Friday, October 7.

The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Tanesha Lanae Newsome, told local police she was on the front porch of her home when the baby began having medical issues. The baby and her two other children were inside the house when that started to happen, per WFLA.

Another kid told the suspect something was wrong with the baby. Newsome said that her baby was turning blue, according to arrest documents. The child was given Narcan and was intubated as soon as he got to the hospital. Police said the baby woke up, began crying after administering the Narcan, and was later admitted to the intensive care unit.

Cops believe powdery substance found in the home caused the baby's injury

Naloxone rapidly reverses an opioid overdose as this medicine is an opioid antagonist. This means that naloxone attaches to opioid receptors and blocks and reverses the effects of other opioids.

Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person whose breathing has stopped or slowed because of an opioid overdose, in this case, Newsome's baby. Doctors made it clear, though, that naloxone is not a treatment for opioid use disorder, and it has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system.

According to the arrest documents, Newsome's baby had pinpointed eyes, but no other signs of trauma were found in the child. St. Petersburg Police said they found several bags of white powdery substance throughout the home after searching it on Saturday. They were suspected of containing narcotics.

The police department believed that the powdery substance led to Newsome's child's hospitalization. She was arrested on Saturday afternoon and was charged with three counts of child neglect.

Georgia authorities find fentanyl worth $172,500 in package

The drug war shows no signs of stopping in the United States, with authorities in Georgia discovering nearly 600 grams of fentanyl worth $172,500 on Thursday, Fox News reported.

According to the Hall County Sheriff's Office, the concealed package was discovered by the K9 unit during a routine check for narcotics at a Gainesville package delivery hub.

In a post, the Hall County Sheriff's Office said that the K9 was taking part in an open-air search of packages arriving at the delivery hub when he alerted on a package being shipped to Oakwood from California.

Deputies said that 575 grams of fentanyl in tablet form were found inside the package. They added that this is the first time a package containing fentanyl has been found at the delivery hub.