Child neglect charges advance
Charges certified against couple whose children tested positive for cocaine
BY ELLEN BILTZ
Date published: 7/29/2008
BY ELLEN BILTZ
The child neglect charges against a Louisa County couple were certified at a preliminary hearing yesterday in Louisa Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Authorities charged the couple in April after their two sons--16 months old and 3 years old--tested positive for cocaine.
Brenda Darice Quarles, 26, and Derrick Andre Christmas, 25, were each charged with two counts of felony child neglect. A grand jury will hear the evidence in the case Sept. 8.
Testimony yesterday showed that Quarles' sister, Sharon Hughes, was baby-sitting the boys the morning of April 16 after Quarles left for a hair appointment about 7:30.
Hughes later called her sister to say she was taking the children to the doctor because they were acting strangely.
They tested positively for cocaine and prescription drugs later in the day.
Prosecutor Rusty McGuire argued that the cocaine in the children's system was evidence of disregard for the children's life. He also said the condition of the couple's home, which they shared with some of Quarles' family members, was an example of neglect of the children.
He showed pictures of a five gallon bucket with a toilet seat on it, which was used because there was no running water in the house, he said.
Other pictures showed trash strewn about and the front of the house, which he referred to as a "junkyard."
That evidence turned out to be at least part of what persuaded Judge Susan Whitlock to certify the charges.
"It is one of absolute filth," Whitlock said of the house.
But Whitlock would not permit documentation of positive cocaine testing into evidence.
Dr. Julia Whiting was the first doctor to see the boys April 16. She said yesterday that when the boys arrived at her office, they were in an "altered mental status."
Whiting told Whitlock that she gave the boys toxicology tests, which came back positive for cocaine and benzodiazepine (drugs such as Valium and Xanax fall in this category).
She said, however, that there was no way to tell the quantity in their systems through her test.
A registered nurse from Martha Jefferson Hospital, as well as the technician in charge of urine testing for drugs, both testified that once at the hospital, the boys tested positive for the same drugs.
Read more stories about Louisa
Date published: 7/29/2008
Most recent reader comments:
Drug Tests Tampered With?
(posted by
seantrantham
, July 29, 2008 7:43 am)
Okay, I can see that...but just the fact that the guy had 19 grams of coke on him...that alone should be enough to have his parental rights taken from him! For the love of God...when will it be enough???
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