By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A 36-year-old Pelham woman has been released from the Shelby County Jail on a $10,000 bond after police said her son tested positive for opiates when he was born at Shelby Baptist Medical Center.

 

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Jenny Leigh Johnson, who lists an address on Silverleaf Circle in Pelham, on Dec. 8, 2015, and charged her with one felony count of chemical endangerment of a child.

Child chemical endangerment is a Class C felony, according to Alabama law, and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison upon conviction.

According to court documents, Johnson gave birth to a boy at Shelby Baptist on Oct. 24, 2015. After the child allegedly tested positive for opiates, the hospital reported the case to the Shelby County Department of Human Resources.

The Shelby County DHR investigated the incident before turning it over to the Alabaster Police Department, said city Deputy Police Chief Jeff Anthony.

Johnson is being represented by the Shelby County Public Defender Office, and was set to appear in Shelby County District Court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 7.

She was released from the Shelby County Jail on Dec. 12, 2015, after posting a $10,000 bond.