By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A 31-year-old Calera woman is facing up to 10 years in prison after her baby allegedly tested positive for a controlled substance after it was born in late 2015.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Jamie Danielle Amerson, who lists an address on Shelby County 304 in Calera, on Jan. 18 and charged her with one felony count of chemical endangerment of a child.

Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney said Amerson’s arrest came after the suspect gave birth to a child at Shelby Baptist Medical Center on Nov. 22, 2015. The baby allegedly tested positive for buprenorphine, which is used as a painkiller and as a substance to treat opioid addiction, leading the hospital to report the case to the Shelby County Department of Human Resources.

After looking into the matter, the DHR turned the case over to Alabaster police, who signed arrest warrants for Amerson.

“Once we got the tests back, we made the arrest and charged her with chemical endangerment of a child,” Rigney said.

Chemical endangerment of a child is a Class C felony, and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.

Amerson is scheduled to appear in Shelby County District Court on Feb. 17 at 8:30 a.m. She was released from the Shelby County Jail the same day she was arrested after posting a $10,000 bond.