An Atmore couple remained behind bars this week after being arrested March 9 when their 8-year-old child tested positive for methamphetamine while being treated for a respiratory ailment.
Police Chief Chuck Brooks confirmed this week that Christopher Clayton Ramer, 26, and Miranda Holland, 27, both of a Fourth Avenue address, were each charged with one count of chemical endangerment of a child.
Ramer and Holland are being held in the Escambia County Detention Center, but information on the amount of their respective bonds was not available by Tuesday’s press deadline.
Brooks said officers were sent to Atmore Community Hospital around 12:45 a.m. Friday after a member of the ACH emergency department’s staff called to report that the child, who was being treated for a flu-like illness, had the illicit substance in his bloodstream.
“The father and mother brought the child to the hospital because he had the flu or some sickness of that nature,” the police chief said. “The father dropped the mother and child off, then he left. When (hospital staff) told the mother the child had tested positive for meth, she left, too. The mother showed back up while our officer was still there, and the father later came back.”
APD investigators believe the couple regularly smoked methamphetamine inside the house where the child resided and that the drug got into his or her system through inhalation, like second-hand cigarette smoke.
The youngster spent the remainder of that morning in the local hospital, and Escambia County Department of Human Resources personnel were notified of the situation.
The lead investigator on the case said a custody hearing was held later that day. Both parents showed up, and they were taken into custody after the hearing.