June 5—JAMESTOWN — Two Jamestown people have been arrested after their 2-year-old child suffered from a fentanyl overdose, according to Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser.
Christopher William Johnson, 40, faces formal charges of endangering a child or vulnerable adult, a class B misdemeanor, reckless endangerment, prohibited acts, possession of drug paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor and taking a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. Johnson is in the Stutsman County Correctional Center on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.
A Class B felony is punishable by 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. A Class C felony is punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by 360 days in jail and a $3,000 fine.
Rhiannon Darlene Hufstetler, 32, faces formal charges of prohibited acts B and reckless endangerment, class C felonies. Hufstetler is in the Stutsman County Correctional Center on a $500 bond.
Hufstetler cannot be charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and ingestion of a controlled substance because the Good Samaritan law gives her immunity from calling 911, Kaiser said.
Kaiser said that on Sunday, June 2, around 10:20 p.m., Jamestown Police and Jamestown Area Ambulance responded to a report of an unconscious 2-year-old child in the 1300 block of 4th Avenue Northwest in Jamestown. Jamestown police officers suspected the 2-year-old child was suffering from a fentanyl overdose due to the child’s condition, the parents testified to officers about what happened that evening and a previous drug overdose that occurred at this residence, Kaiser said.
Officers administered NARCAN to the 2-year-old child, he said. An ambulance arrived on scene and more NARCAN was administered.
The child was transported by ambulance to Jamestown Regional Medical Center and stabilized.
Jamestown police have contacted the Stutsman County Narcotics Task Force to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the drug overdose, Kaiser said.
The Stutsman County Narcotics Task Force obtained a search warrant and officers searched the residence and found suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl, Kaiser said. He said officers also found numerous drug paraphernalia for smoking and injecting methamphetamine and fentanyl, including syringes, ties, alcohol wipes and metal mixing caps that the parents had received from a needle exchange program. He said the items were located throughout the home and were well within reach of the 2-year-old victim and another 4-year-old child who lived in the home.
Agencies involved in the investigation include the Jamestown Police Department, the Stutsman County Narcotics Task Force and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
