Meth nearly kills 10-month-old boy

EVERETT — Exposure to methamphetamine nearly cost a 10-month-old Marysville boy his life.

The toddler overdosed on the drug in December and was taken to a Seattle hospital, according to a Marysville Police Department report.

Doctors had to insert tubes down the child’s airway after he stopped breathing on his own,

Police on Friday arrested a man who lived at the home in the 6400 block of 105th Street NE where the baby became deathly ill. The suspect, 26, was arrested for investigation of endangerment with a controlled substance and was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.

The suspect allegedly told a detective, “This is my fault. I almost killed (the boy.)”

The baby first was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. A nurse there told a Marysville officer that the boy had been admitted to the emergency room for an amphetamine overdose. She said his health was quickly deteriorating.

Police said the man had custody of the boy and shared a room with him at the time. The nature of his connection to the child was not clear in redacted police documents.

A search warrant of the suspect’s bedroom turned up the baby’s crib as well as a marijuana pipe beneath the man’s pillow. A meth pipe was found wrapped in a black bandana in a sunglass case in the bottom drawer of a night stand.

The suspect allegedly acknowledged using meth in a garage that was about 12 feet from the living area where the baby was crawling Dec. 27.

Police believe a meth pipe was loaded with meth within six feet of the bedroom where the baby was sleeping.

The suspect allegedly knew that the baby “was in the stage of crawling around the house, picking up things on the floor and putting the items in his mouth,” police wrote.

The man reportedly was well aware of the risks of doing drugs around young children.

An acquaintance told police that the man had a rule of not picking up or touching the baby when he was high.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com