Parents arrested after 2-year-old ingests ‘rainbow fentanyl’ in Northern California, authorities say
A 2-year-old boy suspected of ingesting the “rainbow fentanyl” in Alameda County, with whom police say they have an existing history, has been arrested and will be prosecuted as an adult.
The boy, whose name has not been released, is being held in Alameda County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office told the San Jose Mercury News this afternoon that the boy was arrested early Wednesday morning and will be prosecuted as an adult.
An Alameda County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson released this statement to the paper:
“We are working with the district attorney’s office on this investigation and taking appropriate steps,” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley-Santiago said in this statement. “We will reserve the right to prosecute this case as an adult.”
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors last month had unanimously voted to increase the penalties for the possession and use of “rainbow” drugs like fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin.
As part of the resolution, supervisors cited two fatal police stings in Oakland as a reason to do so, but did not cite the case in which a 2-year-old girl was killed on Halloween because her parents were arrested at the time.
Fentanyl, which is used as a drug to treat or relieve chronic pain, has been implicated in more than 160 deaths throughout California this year, according to the California Office of the Medical Investigator.
This story will be updated shortly.
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— San Francisco Chronicle
Photo: Police said Christopher Hennings, 2, ingested “rainbow fentanyl.” Credit: Associated Press / John Gibbins