1-Year-Old Boy with ‘Droopy Eyes’ Took a Hit from Aunt’s Marijuana Vape Pen, Police Say

A Texas woman is facing a child endangerment charge after her 1-year-old nephew was allegedly exposed to marijuana while in her care.

According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a home in eastern El Paso for a “medical emergency involving a 1-year-old child who showed signs of narcotics exposure” on May 16.

An arrest affidavit obtained by the El Paso Times and CBS 4 states that the toddler was having trouble breathing after smoking from a THC vape pen allegedly owned by Vianney Alyssa Acosta, 22.

When deputies arrived at the scene, medics from the El Paso Fire Department were already treating the toddler, who was crying uncontrollably. The child “had droopy eyes and was trying to go to sleep,” the affidavit states.

Authorities stated that Acosta, the toddler’s father and the toddler’s grandmother were watching the boy while his mother was at work. The grandmother told investigators that the three adults were eating in the kitchen at around 2:45 p.m. when Acosta heard the toddler coughing in her bedroom and went to check on him, per the outlets.

The affidavit adds that the toddler had a vape pen in his hands, and the grandmother told deputies that it belonged to Acosta.

The child’s father’s statement differed slightly, as he told investigators that he was outside the home working on a car when deputies pulled up to the house. He said he “was not aware of the incident at the time,” the affidavit adds. The grandmother later told him that the toddler had “hit a vape pen.”

Acosta then told deputies “right away … that she had her THC vape somewhere in her room where she thought the victim couldn’t reach it,” the affidavit states, per the outlets. Deputies saw that the pen was kept on a nightstand that was about two feet tall, and the affidavit adds it “was out in the open with just miscellaneous items on top covering it.”

Acosta also told deputies that her nephew “has ways to get on the bed to reach out for things.”

Although the 22-year-old added to investigators that she did not see the toddler with the pen, she assumed he inhaled from it because “he was red; coughing and observed a little bit of smoke,” per the affidavit. She also told the deputies she thought the vape pen was empty and not charged.

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The child’s father and deputies transported to a local hospital to get a urine sample, which later tested positive for THC, according to the affidavit. The Sheriff’s Office also said that a case was also opened with Child Protective Services.

Acosta was arrested and later charged with child endangerment and possession of a controlled substance on May 21, the sheriff’s office said.

She was booked into the El Paso County Jail on a $6,000 bond, and the El Paso Times reported that she was released the same day after posting bail.

In Texas, child endangerment carries a punishment of up to 2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and possession of a controlled substance (1 gram or less) also carries a punishment of up to 2 years in jail and another $10,000 fine.