Child ingests narcotic-laced candy bar; leads to an arrest by TPSO

Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet announced the arrest of a Houma man on charges in connection with an investigation completed by the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division and Special Victim’s Unit.  Sayonta Calloway, 19, of Houma, was arrested on charges in connection with the investigation.

On Friday, February 23rd, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division was called to a local hospital, in reference to a minor child ingesting a chocolate candy bar, believed to contain illegal narcotics.  When Deputies responded, they learned that the minor child was suffering from illegal narcotics related symptoms, and was transported to an out of area hospital for further treatment. Deputies obtained initial information linking the incident to an address in the 200 block of Jolie Oaks Blvd, and responded to the address for further investigation.

Detectives of the Special Victim’s Unit were called to the location, where they continued their investigation. Detectives learned that the child was being watched by a family member at the time of the incident, and when it was discovered that the minor child was acting differently, the child was taken to the hospital. The mother of the child later learned that it appeared the child had consumed a candy bar laced with illegal narcotics, while she was not home.

During the course of the investigation, Detectives reviewed evidence which linked Sayonta Calloway, 19, of Houma to being responsible for bringing the narcotics to the residence, and he was also responsible for the watching the child at the time of the incident.  Detectives located multiple items of evidence during a search of the home, which confirmed the investigative information.

Detectives conducted an interview with Calloway, where he admitted to ownership of the illegal narcotics.

The victim is currently stable and recovering from injuries associated with the incident.

Sayonta Calloway was later arrested by Detectives on charges of Second-Degree Cruelty to Juveniles.  Calloway was later released on a $20,000 bond by local judges.

This remains an ongoing investigation, and additional information will be released as it become available.

Sheriff Soignet would like to commend the Patrol Division and Special Victim’s Unit for a job well done.  Sheriff Soignet said, “These types of cases are always difficult to deal with, when a child is a victim of senseless actions.  Our Detectives and Patrol Division did an amazing job in dealing with a difficult situation.  We are grateful that the victim is recovering, and our agency will do what is necessary to ensure this offender is brought to justice.”