Man, woman arrested after children test positive for exposure to drugs
A local man and woman were each arrested Wednesday on felony warrants for child endangerment after their children allegedly tested positive for exposure to drugs and evidence of physical abuse was found last month.
Zachariah Joseph Townsend, 34, and Kelsey Marie McCain, 28, both of 132 Garland Ave., were taken into custody around 5 p.m. and each charged with three counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, punishable by up to six years in prison.
Townsend remained in custody Thursday in lieu of $7,500 bond and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court. McCain was released Wednesday on $7,500 bond and is set to appear Oct. 8 in district court. According to court records, neither of them have any prior criminal history, felony or misdemeanor.
According to the probable cause affidavits, on Aug. 17, shortly before midnight, Hot Springs police Detective Brian Branstetter and Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Investigator Marisa Amundson conducted a welfare check on three children residing at 132 Garland due to reported allegations of abuse.
Amundson asked Townsend about drug use inside the house and he allegedly admitted to smoking meth inside the residence earlier that day, but stated he did it in a back bedroom. The children were inside the house at the time.
Townsend also reportedly admitted to using marijuana inside the house and he consented to taking an on-site drug test/ drug screen. The test was administered by Amundson and reportedly showed a positive presumptive identification for meth and marijuana which confirmed his statement.
A hair follicle test was performed on all three children inside the residence with one child testing positive for cannabinoids, one child testing positive for meth and one child testing negative for any illegal narcotics.
McCain, who is reportedly mother to one of the children and stepmother to the other two, was also present in the house and was asked to take the drug test. She reportedly stated she would fail the drug screen for THC. She also allegedly admitted she had smoked meth three days earlier, but “it should be out of her system by now.”
Further into the interview, McCain’s 4-year-old stepson was awakened and Branstetter and Amundson reportedly observed a bandage on his left leg. Once the bandage was removed, several large purple and blue bruises were observed and photographed. He also had a large dark bruise on the top of his left hand and allegedly stated McCain “spanked him with a paddle.”
After further investigation, warrants were issued for Townsend and McCain on Wednesday and served the same day.