Woman pleads guilty to endangerment after drugs found in children’s systems
A local woman arrested last year on child endangerment charges after her children tested positive for exposure to drugs, and there was evidence of physical abuse, pleaded guilty Monday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Kelsey Marie McCain, 29, who was set to stand trial Dec. 17, pleaded guilty to one felony count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, punishable by up to six years in prison, while two additional counts were withdrawn, and was sentenced to two years’ probation, fined $500 and ordered to pay $440 in court costs.
Zachariah Joseph Townsend, 35, who was arrested at the same time as McCain on the same charges, is set for a disposition hearing on his charges on Thursday in circuit court. According to court records, neither McCain nor Townsend listed any prior criminal history, felony or misdemeanor.
According to the probable cause affidavits, on Aug. 17, 2019, 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 living at a residence on Garland Street 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-yearold 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 stated McCain “spanked him with a paddle.”
After further investigation, warrants were issued for Townsend and McCain on Sept. 25, 2019, and they were both arrested that same day. McCain was released on a $7,500 bond that same day and Townsend was released later on a $7,500 bond. McCain pleaded not guilty to the charges on Dec. 2 and Townsend pleaded not guilty on Dec. 3.