Amanda Kay Shelton
Amy Marie SneedTwo Rhea County, Tenn., women face arraignment hearings today on grand jury indictments charging them both with felonies related to illegal drugs and small children, one under 8 years old and the other a newborn infant.
In an arrest on Wednesday, Amanda Kay Shelton, 28, of the Evensville area, was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, a felony, and misdemeanor assault in connection with taking a variety of pills during her pregnancy that resulted in positive drug tests for her newborn son, according to Rhea County Sheriff's Office investigator Rocky Potter.
Shelton gave birth to the boy in late September, Potter said.
"While in the hospital, the child had a few minor medical problems," he said. Medical officials conducted tests that showed the infant had prenatally ingested the pills his mother was taking without a prescription up till he was delivered, the detective said.
Shelton was discharged, but the baby's medical problems required more treatment and state Department of Children's Services officials stepped in to take custody of him, Potter said.
Potter said Shelton gave a police statement that "she did ingest, in different ways, some narcotics almost all the way up to giving birth."
Shelton has a criminal history that includes drug charges but no previous charges related to children, Potter said.
In another case, court records in Rhea County show that 37-year-old Cranmore Cove-area resident Amy Marie Sneed will be arraigned today on indictments charging her with three counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of felonious delivery of controlled substances -- benzodiazepine and amphetamine -- to a minor.
The child had physical injuries around his genital area and his face, chest, legs and buttocks from punishment Sneed allegedly inflicted upon him, Potter said.
Sneed is free on a $15,000 bond while Shelton is being held on $7,500 bond, officials said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton @timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.