Angels Foster Care celebrates 300th child placement Parents accused of exposing children to fentanyl appear in court

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Lompoc parents of a 1-yearold boy who are charged with child abuse for allegedly exposing him to fentanyl, nearly costing him his life, appeared in court Wednesday but their case was continued to next month with no action taken.

Defendants Curtis Michael Roberts, 43, and Jessie Lacy McCoy, 36, were scheduled to have a date set for their preliminary hearing, but their case was continued to March 8 for another prelim setting conference, Deputy District Attorney Madison Whitmore told the NewsPress.

They are charged with three felony counts of child abuse, one pertaining to their 1-year-old son, and the others for allegedly exposing his 3-year-old sister and 4-year-old brother to fentanyl as well, all under circumstances “likely to cause great bodily injury or death.”

Mr. Roberts is in custody at the county jail on $100,000 bail. Ms. McCoy is being held on $200,000 bail.

The criminal complaint filed against them alleges the couple created conditions likely to cause their children “to suffer, and to be inflicted to with unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering,” and that they did in fact, “willfully cause and permit said child to be placed in such situation that his/her person and health was/were endangered.”

The complaint alleges aggravating factors, in that the crime involved great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness, and that their victims were particularly vulnerable.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Angels Foster Care is celebrating the placement of 300 children in foster homes since its founding in 2006. The agency aims to provide safe, stable, loving homes for infants and toddlers, from newborns to the age of five, in foster care throughout Santa Barbara county and Southern San Luis Obispo county.

Foster parents K.F. and J. F., who will not be identified for safety purposes, fostered the 300th child from Angels. The couple have two daughters of their own and started their fostering journey in 2021. The 300th placement is the couple’s third foster child. A placement is intended to be a temporary, safe home for a child until they are either reunited with their birth parents or adopted into a permanent home.

“We have always had a heart for serving kids and helping kids from hard places. By the time we started, our daughters were old enough to invite babies into our home and care for them,” K.F. told the News-Press.

“Part of our desire to do this was to provide a safe, temporary place for babies in need until they are placed in a safe, stable place to temporarily help a big need in the county,” J.F. told the NewsPress.

“We are beyond proud to celebrate this significant milestone of 300 foster care placements,”Holly Carmody, executive director of Angels Foster Care said in a press release. “It is our mission to protect abused, neglected and abandoned infants and toddlers, nurture them in a caring home until adoption or reunification, and ultimately ensure that they reach their greatest development potential. We are grateful to our donors, board members, and volunteers who have supported our work and enabled us to make a positive impact on the lives of 300 young children – and their families.”

K.F. spoke to the significance of the 300th placement: “The coolest part is knowing that 300 babies have been helped. It is part of a bigger picture of helping children who don’t have a voice.”

According to Ms. Carmody, the number of children under 18 in foster care in Santa Barbara County has been on the rise for the last five years, dipping slightly in 2022.

“For us, it means we can impact their lives and it’s such a crucial time for children to be in a safe spot. We are excited to make a difference and that our daughters get to be a part of this. It is an opportunity for them to serve and love others and care about their stories,” said K.F.

“I think that the way we look at it, the children may never know that we were involved or who we were. But the fact is that they have a safe spot to be and develop at a young age where the environment affects who they turn into as they grow up. It’s rewarding for us to know that we

Lompoc police, firefighters and AMR ambulance crew responded at 11:14 a.m. on Jan. 5 to a residence at 800 N. F St. regarding a 1-year-old child that was unresponsive. A police investigation revealed the 1-year-old had been exposed to fentanyl. The child was administered Narcan (naloxone) by fire and medical personnel on the scene and was revived. The child was transported to the Lompoc Valley Medical Center for further medical care.

The mother and father, Mr. Roberts and Ms. McCoy, were both arrested for felony child endangerment. The couple pleaded not guilty at their Jan. 9 arraignment. If convicted of all charges, each defendant would be subject to a maximum sentence of eight years, eight months in state prison.

In addition, Ms. McCoy faces aggravating factors in that her prior convictions as an adult or sustained petitions in juvenile delinquency proceedings are numerous or of increasing seriousness; that she has served a prior term in prison or county jail; and that her prior performance on probation, mandatory supervision, post-release community supervision or parole was “unsatisfactory.”

Prosecutors say because of her prior conviction in June 2009 in Los Angeles, Ms. McCoy would receive a second strike if convicted of the current charges. “This incident should be a reminder of the dangers of fentanyl,” police said at the time. “Only a 2-milligram dose of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose, and it is particularly dangerous for someone with no tolerance to opioids. The fentanyl drug is 50 times more potent than heroin.” email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com