3-year-old tests positive for fentanyl during 4th of July family trip to OC
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - A 41-year-old Las Vegas man has been charged with felony child abuse and endangerment after a three-year-old relative ingested fentanyl during a Fourth of July weekend trip to Newport Beach and had to be revived with Narcan.
What we know:
Eric Duane Bird, 41, of Las Vegas, has been charged with one felony count of child abuse and endangerment and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
Bird is accused of traveling to an Airbnb in Newport Beach with his family for the Fourth of July weekend.
After celebrations, a three-year-old relative became extremely itchy, turned blue, and was barely breathing after being put to bed.
Paramedics, called by the boy's parents, rushed him to Children's Hospital of Orange County, administering epinephrine and then Narcan, which restored his normal breathing.
The toddler later tested positive for fentanyl at the hospital.
Newport Beach police officers searched Bird’s room at the Airbnb and found a backpack on the floor containing a silicone "nectar collector" (used for smoking drugs), a container of fentanyl, and burned foil.
The backpack was reportedly accessible to the three-year-old and other children in the home throughout the holiday weekend.
What they're saying:
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated, "Childhood memories of Fourth of July should include fireworks shows, parades, and backyard barbecues, not near-death experiences because a family member cared more about their addiction than the safety of a child."
Spitzer also expressed gratitude for the paramedics' actions: "We are grateful for the life-saving measures taken by the Newport Beach Fire Department paramedics to prevent another fentanyl-related death, especially the death of an innocent child. We have and will continue to aggressively prosecute fentanyl-related cases in Orange County to send a strong warning to fentanyl dealers and users about the deadly consequences of this drug and the many, many lives that have been stolen from use as a result of fentanyl."
Deputy District Attorney Bethel Cope-Vega of the Family Protection Unit is prosecuting the case.
What’s next
Bird has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held on $100,000 bail.
He faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted.
The Source: This report is based on official charges filed against Eric Duane Bird by the Orange County District Attorney's office. Information is drawn from statements made by District Attorney Todd Spitzer and details about the ongoing prosecution by Deputy District Attorney Bethel Cope-Vega. The account of the events leading to the charges comes from the police investigation conducted by Newport Beach police officers and medical findings from Children's Hospital of Orange County paramedics and staff.