CHANDLER, Ariz. — A Chandler woman is facing multiple child abuse charges after her 2-year-old son tested positive for meth, according to court documents.
The alleged abuse came to light when the Arizona Department of Child Safety called Chandler police officers to 38-year-old Argelena Anna Deel's home for a welfare check on her youngest child.
Deel reportedly told police that the child was staying with a family member and had been for some time. Officers were invited to look around the home for the toddler.
There, they discovered "drug paraphernalia, a substance that appeared to be methamphetamine, animal feces throughout, cockroaches and other bugs," the documents stated.
The youngest child was found face down, breathing but unresponsive in a bed. The 2-year-old boy appeared to have bug bites all over his body and when first responders took him to a hospital, a toxicology screening showed that he had methamphetamine in his system.
Police also found two teens living in the home who, according to the documents, later told officials that Deel frequently left the two of them to care for their younger brother when she was incapacitated by drug use.
Police said that the drugs were in the living room within reach of all the children and some had been found near where the 2-year-old slept.
After Deel was arrested, she reportedly told police that her boyfriend was a drug dealer and kept his supply in the house while the children were present.
When asked how the youngest child could have ingested methamphetamine, Deel allegedly told police that the child's grandmother could have dropped some on the floor or that it could have been on the grandmother's bed.
Deel is facing three potential reckless child abuse felony charges.
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