TODDLER HOSPITALIZED AFTER EATING COCAINE

Police Say She Found Mother's Drug Stash

A 21-month-old toddler was listed in stable condition at West Jefferson
Medical Center on Monday, two days after she found her mother's stash of
crack cocaine in their Westwego home and ate it, police said.

Latoya Harris, 21, of 109 Norton St., was booked Sunday with crack cocaine
possession, child desertion and having drugs within 1,000 feet of a
playground, said Westwego Police Chief Dwayne "Poncho" Munch.

The case was reported to Child Protective Services, Munch said. It was the
third high-profile incident in Jefferson Parish involving children who
authorities said were harmed because of their parents' actions.

"I really as a father am just amazed how people can put their children in
these situations," Munch said. "The opiate level in her blood was so high
that she was in danger of dying. For a while, it was touch and go. The
child could have passed away."

Munch said Harris dropped her child off at her mother's house in Marrero on
Saturday and left. A short time later, the grandmother noticed that
something was wrong with the toddler.

She was unresponsive and lethargic, Munch said.

"It's just like if you get someone who is just so drunk they are kind of
limp," he said. "The baby wouldn't respond to stimulation."

The grandmother took the toddler to the hospital, where doctors ran tests
and discovered that the child had ingested cocaine, Munch said.

The Westwego Police Department was contacted, and an investigation began
Sunday.

Sgt. Annette Askew interviewed the mother at the child's home. Empty bags
containing crack residue were in plain sight, Munch said.

Harris told police that she was addicted to crack and hid most of the drugs
in a paper towel roll in the kitchen, Munch said. Authorities also found
one gram of crack cocaine on the floor.

"Whatever goes into a child's hand, you know it goes in the mouth after
that," Munch said.

It was the latest incident in what authorities described as a disturbing
trend in Jefferson. Authorities booked Joseph Glenn, 26, of Westwego with
second-degree murder last month after his 2-month-old daughter died from
cerebral trauma that doctors said was a result of being shaken.

In July, Derrick Breaux, 17, died in a Westwego motel after his father
injected him with a fatal dose of the powerful painkiller Oxycontin. Police
said Paul Breaux of Marrero, who was booked with murder in his son's death,
tried to make it appear that Derrick Breaux died of a self-administered
overdose. A month later, Paul Breaux hung himself in the Jefferson Parish
Correctional Center.