A TV reporter couple in Arizona now find themselves making headlines after being arrested when their four-month-old daughter was found to have cocaine in her system.
People magazine reported that Krystin Rae Lisaius and Somchai P. Lisaius brought their baby girl to Oro Valley Hospital on May 15 after she showed signs of distress and appeared lethargic. However, they allegedly refused to allow their daughter to be blood tested. The little girl was then transferred to Diamond Children’s Center at the Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, where a urine test came back positive for cocaine.
The couple were indicted on June 9 and have pleaded not guilty to three felony charges: possession of a dangerous drug, drug paraphernalia and child abuse. Both were released on their own recognizance.
“It would be a gross, gross injustice [with] even the mention of prison time,” said the couple’s lawyer, Michael Piccarreta, to Tucson News Now. “I anticipate they will demonstrate that they have learned a very hard, embarrassing lesson and that this will become a footnote in their life, not a chapter.”
Krystin, 26, admitted to authorities that she snorted cocaine at a party and then breastfed her daughter 12 hours later. According to Tucson News Now, Somchai also admitted to using cocaine that night, telling authorities he used the drug about once every six weeks. A search of the family home by police also turned up several pieces of drug paraphernalia, including two small bags that tested positive for cocaine.
The baby was released after a few days in the hospital and has been placed in the care of her maternal grandmother. Somchai is allowed to see the baby for 12 hours a day while Krystin has been granted 24 hour access.
One of the most high-profile drug arrests of a TV personality happened in New York City in 2008, when CNN reporter Richard Quest was caught carrying meth. He was initially escorted out of Central Park in the early morning hours for loitering, but admitted to the officer at the scene that he had meth in his pocket. Law enforcement sources later revealed that he also had a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals and a sex toy in his boot.
