MONROE, N.C. – A 9-month-old boy was in critical condition after eating cocaine left within his reach by the child's father and two friends, authorities said.
Monroe police said the boy had been left alone in a room at his father's home in northwest Monroe on Saturday. The father and two friends returned to the room and found the child had swallowed some of the cocaine. Police have not said how much.
The three men took the baby to a local hospital, but doctors there sent the child via helicopter to the main Charlotte branch of Carolinas Medical Center. He was in critical condition Sunday night. The child's condition was not immediately available Monday.
The father, Brandon Scott Lewis, 22, was charged with possession of cocaine, authorities said.
Jonathan Lawrence Henderson, 37, and David Autry, 19, both of Matthews, were charged with possession and delivery of the drug, authorities said. Both men also face charges of assault inflicting serious bodily injury.
Lewis was released on $15,000 bond, according to officials at the Union County jail. Autry was released on $5,000 bond. Henderson remained in custody Monday.
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