Deonta Johnson and Shatia Welch drug dealing Indiana parents, 5 year old son, high on cocaine, fatally shoots 16 month old toddler brother, Isiah Johnson, high on marijuana.
Probably not the parents of the year.. A 5-year-old Indiana boy who fatally shot his younger brother was high on cocaine, while the dead toddler had marijuana in his system, according to prosecutors.
The revelation came as the siblings’ parents were charged with child neglect and drug charges, Tuesday. The boys’ father and mother were identified as Deonta Jermaine Johnson, 27, and Shatia Tiara Welch, 24.
The couple was arrested on the new charges in La Porte, Ind., four months after the fatal shooting the Lafayette Journal & Courier reported.
Drug den dealing parents
Isiah Johnson died from a gunshot wound to the head after his unnamed brother found a handgun at the family drug den home in March, police said.
Johnson claimed to have been napping on the couch at the time, saying he ‘heard a boom’ before he found the 16-month-old boy dead, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The dead toddler was later found to have had marijuana in his system, while his brother tested positive for cocaine, prosecutors said while announcing the charges.
But there’s more.
Police also found 93 fentanyl pills as well as marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the couple’s Lafayette apartment following the deadly shooting.
Mom Welch told police that the gun was hers, claiming that it was usually kept in a locked box under her bed. Of note, both parents denied having touched the gun for days prior to the fatal shooting.
Johnson was also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to clear the apartment of weed before police arrived to the crime scene.
Drug dealing parents booked on series of charges
Four weeks before the deadly shooting, Welch was brought up on charges of possessing and dealing narcotics and marijuana, which is illegal for both medical and recreational purposes in Indiana, according to court records.
Following their arrest, Welch and Johnson were charged with neglect resulting in death, two counts of neglect and neglect resulting in bodily injury.
The parents were also charged with conspiracy to commit dealing a narcotic drug, dealing a narcotic drug, possession of a narcotic, conspiracy to commit dealing marijuana, dealing marijuana, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
Isiah’s parents are facing between 20 to 40 years in prison, and a fine of $10,000 in relation to the felony neglect charges.
Both parents remain in custody, and await extradition to Lafayette after being arrested in LaPorte City, 80 miles north of Tippecanoe County.
