A Florida man has been arrested nearly six months after a 1-year-old child drank from a sippy cup that was later found to have a bag of methamphetamine at the bottom.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office says 46-year-old Mark Allen Windham was arrested on August 22, becoming the fifth person charged in connection with the February incident at a home in Callahan, Florida.
The case against Windham goes beyond simply being another adult who was inside the home. The four people previously arrested identified him as the person who possessed the methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s office.
Two of them also told detectives they saw Windham pour the contents of his own cup into the toddler’s sippy cup. The sheriff’s office has not said that the witnesses saw him put methamphetamine into either cup.
Inside The Cup
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The investigation began on February 24 after detectives learned that the child had drunk from the sippy cup.
The child’s parents later discovered a bag of methamphetamine at the bottom of it.
The child’s parents and other people living in the home did not immediately call 911 after learning that the toddler may have been exposed to the drug, the sheriff’s office said.
Reporting on the original February incident says the child later began vomiting. The mother took the toddler to a nearby fire station, and the child was transported to a hospital for treatment of a possible overdose.
A search of the home also turned up drug paraphernalia, including glass pipes and containers with methamphetamine residue.
Four Arrests
The sheriff’s office initially arrested four permanent residents of the home: Hayden Simmons, Damien Windham, Erica Foley, and Judith Addison.
All four were charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm. Foley was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
Their accounts would eventually become important to the case against a fifth person.
The sheriff’s office says all four identified Mark Windham as the person who possessed the methamphetamine. Simmons and Damien Windham went further, telling detectives that they had witnessed him pour the contents of his cup into the toddler’s sippy cup.
Those statements do not establish what Windham knew was inside either cup at the time. The sheriff’s office’s public account does not say that the two witnesses saw him deliberately place methamphetamine into the toddler’s drink.
Six Months Later
Detectives obtained a warrant for Windham’s arrest on February 26, two days after the investigation began.
He was not arrested until August 22.
“Time doesn’t diminish our commitment to accountability. Our detectives continued working this case for months, following leads and pursuing every avenue until they identified and arrested everyone responsible,” Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said following the arrest.
Windham is charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm and possession of drug paraphernalia with residue.
The sheriff’s office said his bond exceeded $25,000 on the child neglect charge, with another $2,500 attached to the paraphernalia charge.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office’s current inmate records list Windham as remaining in custody at the Nassau County Jail and Detention Center.