Court Documents: Women accused of smoking fentanyl while child was inside car – Story

PHOENIX (FOX 10) — Court documents show a woman along with her mother, are charged with felony child abuse for allegedly smoking fentanyl in a car, while a three-year-old girl was inside.

The incident, according to the documents, happened on December 17, 2018, when 39-year-old Heather Marie Egan, along with 58-year-old Jenny Ann Choate, were pulled over for a traffic violation near 24th Street and Willetta. During a search of the car, drug paraphernalia was found, and Egan later admitted that she and Choate were smoking fentanyl in the front seat of the car. Later, Egan admitted to going to an apartment in the area where she and Choate were parked to buy a fentanyl tablet. Then, they smoked the fentanyl in the car, with the victim present.

Choate, according to the charging documents, denied buying or smoking fentanyl, but did admit to an opioid addiction, and said she uses oxycontin multiple times a day.

According to court documents, results from a drug test on the victim shows a relatively low level of norfentanyl, described as a metabolite of fentanyl. However, court documents noted that the victim was not tested until 24 hours after her exposure, which meant the level could have been significantly higher, and could have been potentially dangerous.

Both Egan and Choate, according to documents, were released on their own recognizance, but are subjected to monitoring.