Sonoma County Mom Jailed When 1-Year-Old Overdoses On Fentanyl: PD

SANTA ROSA, CA — A Santa Rosa woman was jailed Tuesday after causing the overdose of her 1-year-old daughter, police said.

Around 5:15 a.m. Tuesday, officers were sent to a residence on Boyd Street in South Santa Rosa on a report of a child experiencing a medical emergency.

An officer noticed the toddler lying on the ground unconscious and not breathing and saw a person trying to give the child CPR.

The officer took over CPR and after about 15-20 seconds, the child started to breathe on her own.

Emergency Medical Services personnel then arrived and took over care of the child as they prepared to take her to the hospital in an ambulance.

Detectives from SRPD's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Team, which investigates domestic violence incidents, sexual assault incidents involving adults and child, and child abuse or deaths, also responded. Based on interviews and evidence gleaned from the investigation, detectives learned the toddler overdosed from exposure to fentanyl because of her mother’s negligence, police alleged.

Detectives contacted the toddler’s mother, identified by police as Barbara Heywood, 39, of Santa Rosa, and she was eventually arrested and booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of felony child abuse with serious injury.

"The toddler is expected to recover from the exposure to fentanyl," Santa Rosa police Lt. Christopher Mahurin said.

Heywood remained in custody Wednesday with bail set at $50,000 pending a court appearance

It was the third fentanyl-related overdose of a child investigated by the Santa Rosa Police Department over the past 12 months.

"Illegal use of fentanyl is dangerous for adults to consume and lethal for children," Mahurin said. "Two milligrams are considered a lethal dose of fentanyl for an adult. The SRPD continues to conduct enforcement against illegal fentanyl traffickers in Sonoma County to reduce deaths associated with this lethal narcotic."