Teen's cocaine dealings caused son's seizures

A Kansas City teenage mom faces child endangerment charges after hospital tests revealed that her 2-year-old son and two other young children ingested crack cocaine.

The children apparently sampled crumbs that the mom left behind when she darted out to sell drugs, court records allege.

Children’s Mercy Hospital staff contacted police after one of the children suffered seizures earlier this week.

Jackson County prosecutors on Thursday charged Tasha Cole, 17, with four felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child. They requested a $75,000 bond.

After giving police several false stories, Cole admitted that she left the children with a friend while she sold drugs, according to the affidavit filed in court to support the charges.

According to court records:

Cole told police that when she returned to the apartment in the 3000 block of Harrison Street, she found the children playing with the plate on which she had “cut” the crack cocaine. A razor blade lay on the floor.

Cole told detectives that when she put the plate down earlier, it had crumbs of cocaine on it. She told police that she picked up the razor blade but left the plate. About 10 minutes later she realized the children were playing with the plate, and she took them across the hall and told relatives what happened.

One relative wanted to take the children to the hospital, but Cole told her not to because she was “scared.” Later, when her son began having seizures, she took him to the hospital.

Not told about the cocaine, hospital staff treated the boy, took a urine sample and released him. Later, the sample came back positive for cocaine.

Hospital staff asked Cole to return and notified police.

As part of the investigation, the other two children who had been in the apartment, ages 3 and 2, were checked. Both tested positive for cocaine, according to the court documents.