Pataskala, Ohio resident Melvin Blevins was arrested and charged in April 2008 with distributing narcotics to a minor. The arrest followed an incriminating video of the incident that was turned over to local police.
Caught on Tape
According to news reports, the video was left on the hard drive of a camcorder Blevins pawned in Columbus. It allegedly shows Blevins and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Angel Dailey, forcing marijuana on an 18-month-old girl they were babysitting.
At the start of the tape, a man believed to be Blevins smokes marijuana out of a pipe while the baby plays nearby. Meanwhile, a girl, presumably Dailey, holds the child on her lap, while Blevins holds the pipe in front of the child's mouth. Though the toddler squirms and tries to avoid the pipe, she eventually inhales and coughs.
Police were given the video on Monday, April 14, 2008.
Blevins Background
Blevins, who pleaded not guilty, was previously indicted in a March drug bust that included a ton of marijuana and $3 million in cash. Dailey also pleaded not guilty to charges of corrupting and endangering the child.
The child is reportedly two years old now, and is believed to be Blevins's niece.
Melvin Blevins News
LiveLeak.com: Couple videotaping an 18 month old toddler, forcibly making it smoke marijuana (Time: 1:30)
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The Columbus Dispatch: Judge orders man in toddler marijuana case held in jail (April 18, 2008)
Eyewitness News (Memphis, TN): Two Ohio Teens Accused of Forcing Toddler... (April 16, 2008)
- <p>WLTX.com (Columbia, SC): Video Shows Toddler Smoking Marijuana (April 16, 2008)
- <p>Kare11.com (Minneapolis, MN): Caught on Tape: Ohio Babysitters Force Toddler... (April 16, 2008)