Van Marcus Redding Carnegie, Pennsylvania man charged with the fentanyl drug overdose of 4 year old son, Avant Redding. Father admitted dealing from home.
A Pennsylvania man has been charged with the accidental death of his 4-year-old son after the boy died from a fentanyl drug overdose according to reports.
Van Marcus Redding, 36, was charged this week in the accidental death of Avant Redding, who died in May while in his father’s care in Carnegie. Redding was booked with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and a drug charge, according to reports.
Avant Redding, was determined to have died from fentanyl toxicity after the substance was found in Redding’s home. The circumstances of how the boy ingested the opioid derivative wasn’t clear.
Redding picked up his son on May 7 at 1 p.m. and took him to a family birthday party before they stopped at McDonald’s to pick up dinner, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
After young Avant ate the Happy Meal, he threw up and seemed ‘unsteady on his feet,’ Redding told police.
Stamp bags, white powder and a bundle of cash found at home
He took the boy to the hospital, but got in a car accident on the way – later telling police that the child was ill when he was questioned by police over the accident, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
The child was dead on arrival at St. Clair Hospital, WTAE reported.
A criminal complaint said Redding consented to a search of his residence on Hulton Street, where police found medical marijuana on the coffee table. Redding led them to a drop ceiling panel in the bedroom, where investigators found stamp bags, a baggie of white powder and a bundle of cash. The man admitted selling from his home.
Following his arrest this week, the father was denied bail and is due back in court Friday.
