Mom charged for allegedly letting child ingest cocaine

PALMETTO, Ga. — Police say a 17-year-old mother has been charged for letting allegedly letting her toddler ingest cocaine over the weekend.

Andrica Daniel has been charged with possession of cocaine, reckless conduct and child cruelty in the first degree, according to Palmetto police. Police said the baby got the drugs off a table at the mother's home. They didn't initially charge Daniel because she wasn't a suspect.

"At the original time she was being treated as a witness. Then as the investigation lengthened and we got deeper into it and found that she was involved as well," Sgt. Lee Gragg said. Officers said Daniel also wasn't as forthcoming with information about what happened. Police then swore warrants out for Daniel and her mother's boyfriend, Charlie Martin.

Channel 2's Eric Philips was there when police walked Martin, 22, into jail. Martin is the boyfriend of the child's grandmother, Ebony Daniel, 34, who turned herself in to police Tuesday morning.

Police said the baby boy was brought to Piedmont Newnan Hospital over the weekend and then transferred to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston when doctors found out what was going on with the child.

Channel 2's Ryan Young went by Daniel's Palmetto home to get her side of what happened.

When Young knocked on her door, Daniels just yelled, "Nothing to say to you people."

Outside the house on Elm Street in Palmetto, children's toys could be seen throughout the yard Tuesday afternoon.

Investigators told Young the child's mother is being cooperative.

"The mother of the child is helping us. We have talked with other witnesses who said the cocaine was left open on the table," Sgt. Lee Gragg with the Palmetto Police Department.

Martin was taken into custody by police Tuesday night.

The child has since been released from the hospital, and investigators said they were awaiting toxicology reports to determine how much cocaine he ingested.

WSBTV