Video: Grandma brings barefoot 2-year-old along for heroin run, deputies say

Child unharmed

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A woman brought a 2-year-old child with her to a "drug-infested crime area" so she could purchase heroin on Tuesday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said they were conducting surveillance on Delaware Avenue in DeLand around 10:30 a.m. when they noticed the drivers of two vehicles exchange money for a drug deal.

One of the cars was stopped at a nearby Family Dollar and inside, deputies said they found Amy Moreland behind the wheel and a 2-year-old child in the back seat.

A search was conducted after a K-9 alerted on the vehicle. A cut straw, a white substance and a bag containing suspected heroin was found, according to the affidavit.

Moreland admitted to bringing the child with her while she bought $20 worth of heroin, the report said.

Body camera video of the arrest shows the child barefoot in the parking lot, watching as deputies pull the small plastic bag from Moreland's bra.

"Grandma's out here buying dope with you, it's not good," one deputy says on the video as he carries the child to his patrol vehicle.

That same deputy later lectured 43-year-old Moreland about the dangers of heroin and fentanyl.

"That's definitely enough to kill you, so I'd say it's definitely probably four to five times more lethal to a child that's 2 years old," he said. "So that bag just opens up and it blows through the air and he breathes it in, A. He's going to be high and B. It's gonna kill him. That never crosses your mind."

The child was handed over unharmed to another family member.

Moreland was arrested on charges of possession of heroin, possession of paraphernalia and child neglect.


Recommended Videos