Woman arrested after son found unconscious near drug paraphernalia in Surprise hotel room
A woman in Surprise has been arrested after her son fell unconscious in their motel room on Wednesday.
Officers responded to a call around 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the Days Inn near Bell and El Mirage roads where a 12-year-old boy was unresponsive.
Upon arrival, Surprise police officers were told by the boy's mother, 41-year-old Talia Dahlia-Bennett, that she had been smoking powdered fentanyl in the bathroom nearly two hours before the boy entered and later became unconscious, according to court documents.
Dahlia-Bennett, alongside her husband and three children, were staying at the Days Inn after making the trip from Oregon the day prior, according to court documents.
Dahlia-Bennett said her son entered the bathroom around 10:45 a.m. but was only inside for a minute before exiting, saying he didn't feel well. He then collapsed on the bed.
Officers questioned the boy's sister about the incident. She said the boy initially woke up and said he was nauseous "and started stomping toward the bathroom then came back to the bed and blacked out."
The boy's father attempted to administer Narcan and CPR, briefly waking the boy.
According to court documents, the boy's father told officers that Dahlia-Bennett had a "drug problem," so he carried Narcan in case she were to ever overdose.
The father also told officers he had taken methamphetamine to help him stay awake during their drive from Oregon to Arizona.
A search warrant was obtained for the family's hotel room as well as the father's vehicle. Police found roughly 2.4 grams of fentanyl and 2.2 grams of methamphetamine.
The boy's father showed police a burnt piece of tin foil which he said was found next to the boy, according to court documents. He told police that Dahlia-Bennett threw it next to the boy in a panic upon finding him unconscious.
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The boy was transported to the hospital and told officers he had been feeling fine until Wednesday but had stepped on a nail days prior. His parents did not seek medical attention for the nail injury, court documents state.
A urinalysis performed at the hospital came back "normal/high" for fentanyl, the court records say, but negative for any other drug. The boy is in stable condition.
Dahlia-Bennett told officers an incident like this had never happened prior and she is usually responsible, keeping paraphernalia away from her children. She contradicted what her son told police, saying the boy had been feeling sick in the days prior, according to court documents.
Bennett also denied seeing the burnt piece of tin foil next to her son that their father presented to officers.
She was booked into Maricopa County Jail and is facing several criminal charges including two counts of life/health endangerment, two counts of endangerment, two counts of child abuse and two counts of possession of narcotic drugs.
The Office of Child Welfare has now taken custody of Bennett's three children.
Reach breaking news reporter Kye Graves at klgraves@gannett.com or on Twitter @kyegraves
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mother in surprise arrested, son fell unconscious in family hotel room
