Anderson man sentenced to 30 years for fentanyl death of infant son

Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read

Aug. 2—ANDERSON — An Anderson man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the September fentanyl death of his 8-month-old son.

Rodney A. Taylor, 30, 2000 block of McKinley Street, was sentenced Tuesday by Madison Circuit Court Division 4 Judge David Happe to an executed 30-year sentence after reaching a plea agreement. An executed sentence means that the person can't be released from prison until they've served the full term.

Taylor was sentenced on a charge of neglect of a dependent causing death.

Deputy prosecutor Kristin Kane argued for the 30-year sentence, and the defense sought a 10-year executed sentence and 10 years on probation.

According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called late the afternoon of Sept. 2, 2022, to the McKinley Street home, where Anderson Fire Department medics were performing CPR on an 8-month-old infant, Rodney Allen Taylor III.

Little Rodney died at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital later that day. Taylor told firefighters the infant "may have gotten into something" and that he had put the baby in a crib to sleep and had gone to sleep himself. When Taylor awoke, he told authorities, little Rodney was not breathing and was unresponsive.

Taylor told police he had recently graduated from drug court but had relapsed and was using marijuana, heroin and fentanyl. Taylor told police he had last used heroin Sept. 2 at 1:30 a.m. and 6 a.m.

A witness told police she was driving down McKinley Street and saw a man performing CPR in the front yard of a residence. The woman helped perform CPR on little Rodney while another passerby called 911.

At the hospital, Taylor told authorities that he had found a paper wrapper from the inside of a cigarette package inside little Rodney's mouth. Taylor said he also found a gray, salt-like substance in the child's mouth.

Taylor's girlfriend told police that she is also a recovering heroin addict. She was at work Sept. 2 and had called to check on little Rodney and was told by Taylor that the child was fine.

An autopsy, performed Sept. 4 by Dr. Scott Wagner, listed the cause of little Rodney's death as fentanyl toxicity with the manner of ingestion undetermined.

Taylor has previous convictions for possession of a controlled substance, two counts of burglary and robbery.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.