St. Bernard mother booked with cruelty to a juvenile after her 14-month-old son tested positive for marijuana in a hospital; She admitted he may have eaten remains of pot cigarettes she threw in back yard

A St. Bernard Parish mother has been booked with cruelty to a juvenile, a felony, after her 14-month-old son tested positive for marijuana in a hospital and she admitted he may have eaten remains of pot cigarettes she threw in the back yard after smoking, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Jaranique Goins, 21, who was living in Violet with her mother, surrendered Monday night to the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Pohlmann said, after being informed a district court judge had issued a warrant for her arrest, alleging cruelty to a juvenile.

She spent the night in jail and was released Tuesday on $10,000 bond. When she bonded out she listed an address in Meraux, different from her mother’s, where the incident happened in Violet.

“This was irresponsible behavior on her part but fortunately the child has been checked out at Children’s Hospital and was later released,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Goins and her mother brought the boy to St. Bernard Parish Hospital in Chalmette at about 2 a.m. Friday, July 12, after he appeared unresponsive in his bed, the sheriff said.

He said tests were done at the hospital and it was determined the boy had marijuana in his system. The 14-month-old was transported to Children’s Hospital for further observation and St. Bernard Hospital officials notified the Sheriff’s Office of its findings.

Detectives from the sheriff’s Juvenile Division questioned the mother, who admitted she smoked marijuana and sometimes threw the remains of pot cigarettes in the backyard, Sheriff Pohlmann said. She also said the boy did play back there at times, suggesting he may have eaten the marijuana remnants.

Based on those statements, the sheriff said, detectives sought an arrest warrant from a judge for cruelty to a juvenile, which was granted.

Goins surrendered at St. Bernard Parish Prison in Chalmette on Monday night after she was informed of the warrant for her arrest.

The state office that deals with child protection services has been notified of the incident, the sheriff said.