Lacey Dawn Christenson, 26, and Colby Glen Wilde, 29, were arrested in June and arrested again on July 18. They currently face child endangerment and felony drug distribution charges. The couple allegedly gave their newborn daughter Suboxone (or methadone) the same day their baby was born, according to Sergeant Spencer Cannon, sheriff’s spokesman for Utah County, UT.
The Elk Ridge couple is accused of giving their baby the drug within hours after she was born to mask her addiction to prescription pain medication and heroin, according to KUTV.
The infant’s addiction was passed from mother to child in utero due to Christenson’s heroin and pain killer use during her pregnancy.
The infant’s father admitted crushing Suboxone pills and applying the drug to his baby’s gums when medical staff was out of the room on April 9. After the couple’s infant tested positive for heroin, morphine, and meth, she was taken to the hospital. Christenson’s additional children – boys who are ages two, four, and eight – also tested positive for meth, CNN reported.
Theft of Walmart merchandise led law enforcement to finding drug addiction in baby
A robbery of a Walmart located in Spanish Fork on June 26 is what led to the discovery of the baby’s drug addiction. According to store employees, Fox 13 reported, Wilde went into the Walmart store with his baby, who was two months old at that time.
The employees reportedly spotted him taking products from a store shelf. He, then, took the items to customer service and obtained a refund as though he bought the merchandise.
After receiving cash for the store goods, he left the store. He was confronted by store employees about reportedly having stolen the items, Fox 13 noted.
When challenged about the alleged theft, law enforcement said the accused father “ran away” with his baby he was carrying in a car seat. He dropped her in the car seat when he slammed into the store’s sliding doors. The car seat, with his baby, rolled a number of times.
Wilde struck a pillar with the car seat. He, once again, dropped his baby after he ran out of a second door, law enforcement said.
When witnesses tried stopping him, the father handed the car seat with his baby “to a stranger.” He ran to his car and “sped away,” deputies said.
After twice dropping baby in car seat, deputies make multiple findings of law breaking behavior
After a deputy caught up to the accused father, he took Wilde into custody for allegedly driving without insurance, DUI, meth, heroin, and drug paraphernalia. Wilde is also accused of theft and child abuse since police in Spanish Fork added the felony charges.
Christenson accompanied Wilde to the Walmart store with her older children, Fox 13 reported. She had an outstanding warrant. She was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail. Her baby girl and her sons were taken into custody by Spanish Fork Police.
A woman who went to the couple’s home on June 28 to take care of the family pets purportedly discovered drug paraphernalia and drugs in the house. She contacted law enforcement. Fox 13 stated that deputies found drugs next to a child’s sippy cup and bassinet. Among the drugs discovered was Suboxone, which is a prescribed medication used for addiction treatment and as a pain medication.
On June 28, Christenson was released from jail regarding her warrant. After posting a $7,500 bond on July 5, Wilde was released from jail. The couple was rearrested and booked on July 18. They were charged with felony counts related to law enforcement after discovering the infant’s drug addiction.
Bail for the couple is cash-only and is set at $10,000, according to Fox 13.
