TYLER, Texas — An East Texas mother and father were arrested early Monday morning after law enforcement say they found fentanyl pills inside their baby's diaper during a traffic stop.
Dredarian Ester, 27, and Jada Speight, 22, both of Tyler, were arrested on charges of abandonment or endangerment of a child causing imminent danger, manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance between four and 200 grams and possession of marijuana between four ounces and five pounds, according to Smith County Jail records.
According to the Smith County Sheriff's Office, a deputy pulled over Ester and Speight's vehicle for a traffic stop at a 7-Eleven, located at 3400 Van Highway in Tyler. The 6-month-old girl was in the backseat. The deputy noticed the smell of marijuana and conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle.
The deputy found four vacuum sealed bags of raw marijuana in the trunk. A conversation between Ester and Speight led the deputy to be suspicious that narcotics may have been concealed in the baby's clothing.
"The deputy then asked Speight if she would change the infant’s diaper because the deputy could tell it was full," the sheriff's office said. "While Speight changed the infant, the diaper was opened, and the deputy observed a pill bottle inside of the diaper."
She recognized the contents of the bottle as pressed fentanyl pills, according to the SCSO.
Ester admitted to placing the pills into the diaper, the SCSO said. Their bonds each total $105,000.
A Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spokesperson confirmed the infant is in the agency's care.
