Cass County prosecutors have a charged a man for endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs.
Court records show on Sunday, Ryan Cody Smith was left to take care of two boys, a 19-month-old and 3-year-old, as their mother went to work. When the mother came back, she noticed her youngest son acting strange.
She went to Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics South Campus early Tuesday after he began “biting his older brother, gorging himself on cookies and gagging himself with his fingers.”
She told doctors this was the fourth time something like this happened. After doctors couldn’t come to a conclusion, the child was sent to Children’s Mercy Hospital on Gillham Road in Kansas City.
On early Wednesday morning, the baby boy tested positive for amphetamines and methamphetamines.
Police went to the boy’s home in Belton.
“[There were] two cop cars out and what looked two to three detectives cars sitting in front of the place,” Tim Nickerson, a neighbor, said.
Officers arrested Smith for an outstanding warrant. But during a search, officers said they also found a clear water bong with a white residue, a pipe and a crystal substance.
Smith denied to officers ever giving meth to the boy, saying, “They meant everything to him.” But police said he admitted that on Sunday night he went to his room and loaded a pipe to smoke as the boys were playing.
“I can’t understand why people would put the child in that kind of danger, kids are precious, there’s no reason to put them in any kind of danger like that at all,” Nickerson said.
Smith is being held on a $25,000 bond.
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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com
