Boy, 5, Brings Heroin for Show and Tell
A 5-year-old boy has been removed from his father's custody after bringing a bag of heroin to school for his class' show and tell. His father, Santos Roman, has been charged in the incident and is being held on $100,000 bond.
Police told reporters that the 5-year-old brought over 50 packets of heroin to his class' show and tell yesterday. His teacher immediately recognized the substance and took custody of the packets and the jacket in which they were stored. The boy had taken his father's coat to school; the jacket was where the drugs were stored, according to The Connecticut Post.
After the teacher took custody of the drugs and coat, she informed the principal, who then called police. Roman showed up at the school looking for his stepson and jacket; when he finally found the jacket, it was empty. Police then took Roman into custody. Police spokesman Keith Bryant told the Post that the young boy had been removed from his father's custody and is now under the care of the state.
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Roman has been charged with risk of injury to a minor, possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics, and possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school. Unfortunately, other young children have also brought drugs to school without being aware of what they actually are.
In September, a kindergarten boy at Sweet Springs Elementary School in Missouri brought his mother's crack pipe and methamphetamine to show and tell. Police arrested his mother, Michelle Marie Cheatham, and charged her with possession of a controlled substance and first-degree child endangerment.
Authorities were stunned by the child's possession.
"When I called the prosecutor about it, he said, 'You're kidding me, aren't you?'" Police Chief Richard Downing told KCTV5.
In May, an 8-year-old boy brought his mother's heroin to school; she was arrested but later released after charges were dropped. Police Chief Ophelia Coleman told WTAE.com how tragic the event was.
"It's a sad day when you have this type of situation where an 8-year-old child would have his hands on this much narcotics. He was emulating what he had seen in the streets," Coleman stated.
