Staff Report

Jason Todd Whitaker

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was recently arrested on drug charges after an infant child was found to have ingested amphetamines.

Jason Todd Whitaker, 36, 109 N. Reed St., Warsaw, is charged with possession of methamphetamine and maintaining a common nuisance, both level 6 felonies; possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor; and possession of methamphetamine with enhancing circumstances, a level 5 felony.

On Sept. 12, Child Protective Services requested officers’ assistance for a home visit in Warsaw. According to court documents, CPS conducted the home visit after a woman took an 18-day-old child to a local hospital on Sept. 10. The child was having seizure-like activity and was later taken to a Fort Wayne hospital, where a toxicology screen showed they had amphetamines in their system.

While attempting to make contact at the home, officers smelled marijuana and noticed a glass pipe with burnt residue. NET43 Drug Task Force obtained a search warrant for the home and arrested Whitaker and Kenyon D. Harris, 36, Elkhart. Harris is the child’s father.

In Whitaker’s bedroom, officers found a smoking device with methamphetamine residue. In the residence’s living room, officers found drug paraphernalia and 23.7 grams of methamphetamine.

Warsaw officers had been at the home during a separate instance in September to purchase 1.8 grams of methamphetamine from Harris. Whitaker was in the home when the purchase occurred.

Whitaker was previously convicted of methamphetamine dealing in Kosciusko County in November 2018.

For this case, Whitaker was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Nov. 2.