Carson City detectives arrested a 38-year-old Carson City woman, Meagan, for felony child neglect, drug possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia Wednesday evening.
To maintain the privacy of the juveniles, we will not be using the defendant’s last name.
According to the arrest report, SET detectives responded to a residence on Ballarat Drive to investigate a report by a School Resource Officer (SRO) regarding four children living in poor conditions due to their mother’s alleged drug use.
The SRO’s report noted specific concerns that the children had “a persistent odor of urine on their clothes and a lack of available food.” Additionally, SET detectives were informed by school admin that there had recently been a meeting with the children’s mother, Meagan, who appeared to be “nodding off” and “looked horrific.”
Based on the information received from the SRO and school admin, detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence.
Upon arrival, detectives knocked on the door, which was answered by a “smaller child” followed by two other children. The children told detectives their mother was not at home and they were unsure where she was.
When entering the home, detectives “immediately detected a strong odor consistent with animal urine and observed trash scattered across the floor throughout the residence.”
The detective reported there were five cats and three dogs inside the residence, and there was animal feces and fresh urine on the floor throughout the home.
There were two rooms which appeared to be children’s rooms containing bunk beds with mattresses and blankets, and a room further down the hall with “larger amounts of trash, some trash in bags, some scattered throughout the floor, and old moldy food” along with an old methadone bottle on the dresser in front of a television.
Shortly after detectives entered the home, Meagan arrived home with one of the children in the passenger seat, according to the report.
Detectives spoke with Meagan and indicated they were there regarding the condition and cleanliness of the home. She said she had struggles with ADD and experiences “ups and downs.” She said she had been sick recently and “claimed the children had taken advantage of her illness, contributing to the condition of the home.” She told detectives she’d been trying to clean the house up “little by little” since Friday.
She told detectives three other adults live in the home, including her boyfriend and her adult daughter.
Detectives asked her about the Methadone bottle on her dresser, and she said she hadn’t used Methadone since February. She told deputies she had a prior opioid addiction due to breaking her leg, and when she could no longer obtain prescription opioids, she turned to the use of Fentanyl. She said she was clean for some time, and only used Methadone, but when she could no longer obtain it from the Life Change Center, she went back to using fentanyl.
At first, she told detectives she’d used fentanyl four months prior at her ex-boyfriend’s house. Then, she stated it was within the last few days, and finally, she admitted to having fentanyl in her purse in the car.
Detectives searched her purse and located a small black pouch with a tooter straw, a small clear bag containing fentanyl, and tin foil.
She told detectives she “waits to smoke fentanyl till after the kids leave for school or once they are in bed,” and admitted to smoking it 2-3 times per day.
Based on “the totality of the circumstances” as well as Meagan’s admission of current fentanyl use and the location of the drugs being accessible to the children, Meagan was taken into custody for felony child abuse/neglect, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Bail: $41,137
In other arrests:
A 49-year-old Carson City woman was transported to the jail on two contempt of court warrants for a total of $6,000 cash-only bail.
A 53-year-old Carson City man was arrested for misdemeanor driving with a suspended registration, operating a vehicle with expired registration, and operating a vehicle without proof of insurance — all on a second offense. Bail: $974
A 38-year-old Reno woman was transported on a contempt of court warrant for a book and released into the custody of the prison.
A 65-year-old Coos Bay, Oregon man was arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance after a traffic stop revealed the man was in possession of tablets of synthetic drugs believed to be “party drugs” similar to ecstasy or MDMA. The man was stopped after deputies witnessed him driving while using his cell phone and searched the vehicle after a Deputy K9 provided a free air sniff and alerted them to the presence of a drug odor. Bail: $2,500
All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) is public information and supplied by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office through probable cause reports. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. View our policy on naming defendants here.
