(Photos courtesy of Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)
Three Ava residents have been indicted by a Douglas County grand jury Wednesday on charges involving the abuse of an eight-week-old infant. Forty-four-year-old Jammie White, 21-year-old Ashlee Dean and 25-year-old Nicholas Womble were booked into the Douglas County Jail on felony counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation by Sheriff Chris Degase, one of his deputies and the Children’s Division began following a hotline call about the infant. The deputy and the Children’s Division responded to the residence and reportedly located 80 mature marijuana plants. No one was at the residence at the time.
The deputy returned with Sheriff Degase nearly an hour later and found the marijuana plants chopped down and in a pile. White answered the door and claimed Dean and Womble ran into the woods with the child after the deputy left. She also allegedly admitted to cutting down the marijuana plants after the deputy left the first time. White then yelled, and Dean and Womble exited the woods with the infant.
The sheriff says the infant was malnourished and was transported to an undisclosed hospital by ambulance in poor physical condition. It was discovered the child had not been given its medication prescribed by a doctor. The infant was reportedly being fed goat milk replacer, Vienna sausages and soda. The child was taken into state custody and began receiving medical treatment and examinations.
Cash-only bond is set at $150,000 for White and $15,000 each for Dean and Womble.
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