Sabrina L. Sumter is brought before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court for a bail hearing.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 25-year-old Centralia woman was arrested after police learned a test that came back from her 3-month-old baby who died last month showed positive for the presence of methamphetamine.
It’s not yet clear what caused the child’s death as prosecutors have not gotten the final autopsy report yet.
But Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer charged the mom today with endangerment with a controlled substance.
Sabrina L. Sumter was booked into the Lewis County Jail last night and brought before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
Meyer said there were no outward signs of trauma but the results of a blood test showed meth in the baby’s system. He said Sumter admitted to smoking meth in her home the day before her child’s death.
He said he learned today the test results on Sumter’s other child came back negative for drugs. That child was placed into the custody of Child Protective Services, he said.
Meyer asked the judge to hold the defendant on $50,000 bail, but temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked for the amount to be set at $5,000, noting Sumter has lived at the same address for almost a year, there are no children in the home and she has zero criminal history.
Judge Andrew Toybnee ordered her held on $25,000 bail.
The alleged offense holds a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine. The allegation is the defendant knowingly allowed the infant to be exposed to, to inhale, to ingest or have contact with methamphetamine.
Meyer said he is not alleging the mother or any exposure caused the child’s death, at this time.
He has not gotten the final autopsy report yet from the pathologist, he said, since the test results just came back yesterday.
Sumter’s address in court documents is listed as an apartment on the 1400 block of Johnson Road in Centralia.
According to charging documents, police were called on May 6 when Sumter awoke and found the child unresponsive. A roommate called 911.
Attempts to revive the baby were unsuccessful and the baby was pronounced dead a short time later at Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the documents.
As part of the normal autopsy procedure, a sample of the child’s blood was submitted for testing, Meyer wrote in the affidavit regarding probable cause.
Centralia police detective Patty Finch received a copy of the toxicology report yesterday and Sumter was interviewed, according to the documents.
Sumter “did admit to smoking methamphetamine regularly,” Meyer wrote.
She allegedly also admitted to having other people in the house smoking meth and not removing the children from the situation, according to Meyer. She also allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana in her home with her children present, Meyer stated in the documents.
Meyer said part of the reason he asked for high bail was Sumter had wanted to talk to police or CPS about her other child going to live with its father in Mexico. The father was in federal custody at the time of the death and has been deported, according to Meyer.
Toybnee appointed Chehalis attorney Chris Baum to represent the mother. Her arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.
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