Two wedded on-air personalities are facing drug charges after drug tests revealed cocaine in their baby’s system, reportedly ingested while the infant was being breastfed.
Oro Valley police said 26-year-old Krystin Lisaius and her husband Somchai Lisaius, both former Tucson Arizona-based TV reporters, were indicted on charges of child abuse and possession of a dangerous drug.
The couple reportedly told police that they snorted cocaine at a house party on May 14. Lisaius said she breastfed her four-month-old just 12 hours later and did not think the drugs would harm the child.
Lisaius said she became worried after her daughter’s “eyes were rolling” and she became “ragdoll-like.”
The Oro Valley Police Department released the following statement on the circumstances sounding the couple’s arrest and charges.
The Lisaiuses were indicted on June 9. They pleaded not guilty in court Monday and were released on their own recognizance.
“Hypothetically, if the child ingested cocaine through breast milk, then you gotta realize that there’s different understanding as to when a recreational drug will be out of your system,” the couple’s lawyer, Michael Piccarreta, told Tucson News Now. “And if there’s a misjudgment as to how fast it’s out of your system, then it’s an error that has been learned. It won’t be repeated.”
Police said Somchai initially denied snorting cocaine, but later admitted to using the drug “every six weeks or so“ after his wife confessed to using in a similar fashion.
The child has been placed in the care of a relative and is expected to make a full recovery.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson.
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