A Liberty mother is the first person to be charged in DeKalb County under a new state law, which took effect last summer that allows the state to seek criminal charges against a woman who uses illegal drugs while pregnant.
27 year old Lindsey Paulette Davenport of Woodbury Highway, Liberty is charged with the misdemeanor offense of assaulting a viable fetus as the victim. Her bond is $2,500 and she will be in court on April 9.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on January 21, Davenport gave birth to a baby boy whose urine tested positive for opiates. Blood drawn from the umbilical cord tested positive for Suboxone, Methodone, and Morphine.
Faced with a growing number of babies born addicted to drugs in Tennessee, state legislators enacted the new law, sponsored by Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, with the intention of reducing the problem. The law specifically relates to cocaine and heroin.
Signed by Governor Bill Haslam, the law became effective July 1,2014. It allows prosecutors to pursue criminal assault charges and potential jail terms if women bear children who are addicted or suffer other injuries because of the mom’s drug use. The Governor said at the time that the new law had been carefully considered and is intended to encourage law enforcement officers and prosecutors to push pregnant women with substance abuse issues toward treatment.
Representative Weaver said this year she is seeking passage of an amendment to the law to include methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, 26 year old Jennie Nelson of Blue Springs Road, Smithville is cited for violation of registration, simple possession of a schedule III drug (Suboxone), and possession of drug paraphernalia (hypodermic needle). She will be in court August 16. Sheriff Ray said a detective stopped Nelson’s 1995 Cadillac Deville on Highway 56 north for failure to maintain lane of travel. While Nelson was showing the detective her medications, he spotted a hypodermic needle in her bag. Nelson said she had used the needle the previous night. The detective searched Nelson’s purse and found a Suboxone Strip, which is a schedule III drug. Nelson did not have a prescription for the drug or hypodermic needle.
36 year old Andrew Wesley Wilbert of Vandergriff Hollow Road, Dowelltown is charged with driving under the influence. He was further issued citations for violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance) and for violation of the implied consent law. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court April 16. Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, March 21 a deputy was dispatched to a traffic accident on Petty Road. Upon arrival the officer spoke with Wilbert, who had wrecked his pickup truck. Wilbert had a strong odor of alcohol on his person. He was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred. Wilbert refused to submit to a blood test but he did undergo field sobriety tasks and performed poorly.
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