CPD: Berkeley County couple charged after their child overdoses on Fentanyl

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The Columbia Police Department says a couple from Berkeley County has been arrested after their child overdosed on Fentanyl. Police say the child ingested the drugs at a hotel in downtown Columbia on the 900 block of Washington Street.

Authorities say 39-year-old Donald Ray Little Jr. and 27-year-old Mary Ashley Willis are charged with unlawful neglect of a child. Officials say Little has also been charged with possession of a scheduled I controlled substance and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.

According to investigators, the couple is accused of putting their child in danger by leaving illegal controlled substances out where the child consumed an unknown about while his parents were sleeping. Just after 10 a.m. on Wednesday, authorities say Willis brought her unresponsive child to Columbia Police Headquarters where officers cared for the child until EMS arrived. Authorities say the child tested positive for Fentanyl at the hospital.

Police say the child, who turns one-year-old Friday, was placed into the emergency protective custody of the SC Department of Social Services (DSS).