Police: Woman’s baby tested positive for drugs
Published 4:29 pm Monday, June 9, 2014
By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor
An Altoona woman is being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $15,000 after her baby allegedly tested positive for multiple drugs when it was born.
The Altoona Police Department arrested 31-year-old Georgia Donette Wright on June 6 and charged her with one count of chemical endangerment of a child where a controlled substance is produced. Her arrest warrant was issued by the Alabaster Police Department, and came after she gave birth to a child at Alabaster’s Shelby Baptist Medical Center on March 13, according to the warrant.
When she was arrested on June 6, she was out on a $15,000 bond for a second-degree possession of a forged instrument charge brought by the Columbiana Police Department in 2012. Her bond for the Columbiana charge has been revoked, according to court documents.
Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney said the hospital reported the baby’s positive drug tests after the baby was born. Rigney said the baby tested positive for multiple drugs, including methadone.
Methadone is a controlled substance, and is sometimes used by licensed clinics to break patients’ dependence on opioids such as heroin or prescription painkillers.
Chemical endangerment of a child is a Class C felony. If convicted of the crime, Wright could face between one and 10 years in prison.