- Denard Bishop, 39, and Alexis Scarborough, 34, were charged with child endangerment
- Her son was found gasping for air while taking a nap at the Bishop's Golf Manor home
- The boy was taken to Cincinnati Children's Medical Center, where it was determined he was suffering from a fentanyl overdose
The parents of a 4-year-old boy who overdosed on fentanyl on his birthday have been charged.
Denard Bishop, 39, and Alexis Scarborough, 34, are charged with child endangerment after their son was found gasping for air during a nap at his father's Golf Manor home on Nov. 25.
After the incident, he was taken to Cincinnati Children's Medical Center.
According to court documents obtained by Fox19 Now, the boy was found to have “agonal breathing.” The potentially fatal condition occurs when a person does not receive enough oxygen.
Denard Bishop and Alexis Scarborough were charged with child endangerment after their four-year-old son overdosed on fentanyl on his fourth birthday
The incident happened on November 25 at the Bishop's Golf Manor home where Scarborough (pictured) was visiting
His mother was arrested immediately afterwards, while Bishop remained at large for two days. Both were eventually arrested and taken into custody.
Scarborough pleaded not guilty to child endangerment at a hearing Wednesday.
A judge rejected her lawyers' request to release her on her own recognizance so she could keep her job as a hotel housekeeper.
Her bail was set at $10,000 and she was ordered to have no contact with her children unless she received permission.
Bishop is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday.
“Fortunately, this child is hopefully doing well,” Tom Synan, co-chair of the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition, told Fox19 Now.
The mother's lawyers asked for her to be released on her own recognizance so she could keep her job, but a judge denied that and set her bail at $10,000
The boy was taken to Cincinnati Children's Medical Center after he was found to be having difficulty breathing during a nap
“Luckily they got medical help.” In some cases this can be reversed.
“And hopefully there are no further repercussions and the child and everyone involved in this incident learns from it and is able to take those protective measures and get the help and resources they need to stop using drugs.”
According to the latest statistics from the Ohio Department of Health, there were 4,915 unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2022.
Of these, 81 percent involved fentanyl – often in combination with other medications.