Pubdate: Mon, 22 May 2006
Source: Santa Maria Times (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Pulitzer Central Coast Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.santamariatimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/396
Author: Mark Abramson, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

LOMPOC BATTLES CHILD DEATHS

In the past three years, seven Lompoc infants have died under a cloud 
of suspicion as a result of their parents' involvement with drugs or 
alcohol, according to authorities.

Lompoc police, who say a methamphetamine epidemic is sweeping the 
community, said they asked the district attorney's office to file 
charges in each of the cases. But charges were filed only in the most 
recent case - against the father of twin baby girls who died in 
January after their father allegedly rolled onto them in their sleep.

Jason Moises Gomez was charged with two counts of involuntary 
manslaughter, two counts of child endangerment and a misdemeanor 
count of being under the influence of a controlled substance in the 
deaths of Michelle Caroline Perry and Chrissy Dawn Perry.

Tests showed he had used methamphetamine shortly before the girls 
were accidentally smothered. In each of the other deaths, the child 
also was sleeping with a parent, according to police.

Gomez faces seven years and four months in prison if he is convicted 
of all the felony charges. He is scheduled to appear in court June 15 
in Lompoc to set a date for his preliminary hearing.

Deputy District Attorney Jerry McBeth declined to discuss the Gomez 
case or the other cases involving infants' deaths, but said charges 
are filed only if authorities believe there is enough evidence to 
prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors will not file 
charges unless they believe they can get a conviction, he said.

"They are difficult cases to put together," said Lompoc Police Chief 
Bill Brown. "There is no real ability to tell if it was a SIDS 
(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) deaths or from co-sleeping." Advertisement

Police, however, say methamphetamine use was involved in most of the 
cases, and now they are looking at ways to work with the community to 
alert parents about the dangers of doing drugs or drinking when 
co-sleeping with a child.

Brown said he met with the Lompoc Hospital's pediatric subcommittee 
last week as a first step.

The next meeting could be with the Lompoc Valley Healthcare Council 
sometime in the coming months to work on some sort of public 
education program about the problem that could include public service 
announcements, Brown said.

"(The number of deaths) seems like a lot to me. That is what prompted 
this," said Brown. "Maybe there is something we can do here."

The seven deaths involved a 9-month-old boy Feb. 14, 2003; a 
2-month-old girl March 6, 2003; a 3-week-old boy June 23, 2004; a 
5-month-old boy July 21, 2005; a 1-month-old girl Dec. 22, 2005; and 
the Perry twins, who died late Jan. 22 or early Jan. 23.

"In all except for one (of the deaths) the parents were determined to 
be under the influence of meth or another drug," said police Sgt. 
Deanna Clement. The other case involved a parent who admitted to 
using alcohol at the time, she said.

Usually the parents in these cases have had a history of drug-related 
offenses, and most of the cases involved a parent co-sleeping with 
their child, Clement said.

Besides meeting with medical experts, police said they have found 
other ways to focus on the issue.

Lompoc police officers now go through a new program that teaches them 
to recognize when children are in danger because of drugs and how to 
investigate it immediately when they are called to a potential crime scene.

Despite the rise of methamphetamine use and the death of the 
children, Brown said he is uncertain that the two are directly related.

But Child Welfare Services (CWS) say about 80 percent of their cases 
deal with some sort of substance abuse, and many of those involve 
methamphetamine.

When a parent or guardian uses meth, aggressive behavior, abuse or 
neglect of children is more common, said Cindy Nott, a CWS division chief.

Each case involving drug abuse by a parent is treated differently, 
and CWS looks at several factors before it takes action.

"There is no magic number (for taking a child away from a parent), 
but we are looking at repeated history," Nott said. "What we look at 
are the crimes that have a role on a parent's impact to care for 
kids. We really look at those crimes closely."

In many cases, Child Welfare Services is involved in situations in 
which a parent has a drug history and that agency can do an 
assessment when a child is born.

The agency has safeguards in place for children, but when parents are 
on drugs, nothing is foolproof.

"When people are doing any kinds of drugs, their whole priority 
system changes," Nott said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman