Julie Lynn Lucas (Tygart Valley Regional Jail)
A 61-year-old woman in West Virginia was arrested after authorities accused her of leaving uncapped needles inside the “play room” of several young children — needles she would allegedly use to inject herself with methamphetamine. Julie Lynn Lucas was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with one count of child neglect creating risk of injury, court records show.
Deputies with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office on May 28, responded to a call about possible stolen prescription medication at a residence on County Club Road in Grafton, West Virginia, the sheriff’s office said. The home is located about 150 miles northeast of the state capital of Charleston.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Clarksburg NBC and ABC affiliate WBOY provided additional details about the alleged crime.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders made contact with Lucas as well as another individual whom they described as showing “indications of impairment” due to her slurred speech, “fully dilated pupils with red eyes,” and numerous scars that appeared to be “pick marks” from intravenous drug use.
The deputies also took note of three young children in the home, who were reportedly ages 4, 7, and 9. The home itself was described in the affidavit as being “deplorable,” “very dirty,” and “filthy,” per WBOY.
Lucas then escorted the deputies to the place where the alleged theft occurred. Deputies asked her to show them the bottle of medication from which the pills were allegedly stolen, which is when Lucas admitted that the medication did not belong to her.
“Now I’m in trouble because it is not my bottle,” she responded, per the affidavit.
The bottle reportedly contained 56 gabapentin pills, which are typically used to treat seizures.
After stepping outside to continue speaking with the deputies, Lucas reportedly conceded that she also kept “needles used for shooting methamphetamine” in the home and agreed to show the deputy where they were stored. Lucas reportedly led the deputy to “the kids’ play room,” went into the closet, and grabbed a purse that held 20 mostly uncapped needles as several baggies that Lucas reportedly told police contained methamphetamine residue.
The deputies placed Lucas under arrest. In a subsequent interview, she allegedly admitted to using methamphetamine at about 4 a.m. that day. She reportedly claimed that she typically avoided using drugs before seeing the children, but noted that she had not been aware they were coming over that day. She said she had been caring for the kids while under the influence for at least an hour, Weston CBS affiliate WDTV reported.
Lucas is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, records show.
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