A woman was arrested Monday near Hemet after allegedly putting methamphetamine in her tea, which was later ingested by her 2-year-old granddaughter, authorities said.
Cynthia Ann Watson, 51, of Aloha, Oregon, was booked at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail, according to a statement issued by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The toddler is expected to make a full recovery.
Deputies responded about 10 a.m. to the 31000 block of Pine Street, in Garner Valley (map), where the child’s mother said the girl would not fall asleep after being put to bed the previous evening.
The 2-year-old “was talking rapidly, scratching her skin, could not sit still and was very agitated,” the statement said. “Thinking there might be some medical issue with her daughter, the reporting party took her to a local hospital to be examined.”
An examination revealed the child tested positive for the drug in her system.
Deputies learned that Watson was staying at the Pine Street address with the family, and that she had “made a cup of tea the night before and placed methamphetamine in the tea to get herself high,” according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The cup containing the drug-laced drink was left unattended on a counter, after which the toddler consumed some of its contents, authorities said.
Watson was taken into custody on suspicion of felony child endangerment and possession of methamphetamine. She is expected to appear in court Wednesday morning at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, online records showed.
