Woman accused of giving daughter THC gummies

A 42-year-old Saukville woman who has been arrested three times in as many months was charged last week in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with supplying her 12-year-old daughter with marijuana gummies.

The woman faces one felony count of delivering marijuana and misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a child, neglecting a child and two counts of bail jumping.

Ozaukee Press is not naming the woman to protect the identity of her children.

According to a criminal complaint, on Sept. 19, Detective Eric Ramthun of the Saukville Police Department received a report of suspected child abuse or neglect from a person who was concerned about the woman’s children being exposed to her substance abuse and volatile behavior. 

During a Sept. 28 forensic interview, the 12-year-old girl said her mother uses “weed gummies” and has given her a half or whole gummy to help her relax, although she later said her mother gave her quarters of gummies. The girl said the gummies tasted “like weed smells,” made her feel “high” and described “being tired but (my) muscles were moving,” the complaint states.

After being arrested, the woman admitted to using marijuana gummies and giving them to her daughter to help them both sleep. She said initially she purchased CBD gummies from a local store, but they became expensive so she bought marijuana gummies from outside Wisconsin, adding that she realized they contained a higher level of THC than is legal in Wisconsin, which is why she cut them into quarters, according to the complaint.

The woman said she gave gummies to her daughter three times between June and August to treat the child’s anxiety, the complaint states.

The person who reported the suspected child abuse or neglect also provided Ramthun with a text message sent by the woman to a relative in which the woman said her boyfriend bailed her out of jail after an earlier arrest and brought her back to their house in Saukville even though she is prohibited from having contact with him and the home as conditions of bail, according to the complaint.

“He snuck me back here. PLEASE don’t tell anybody right now cuz I could go to jail, like I could get bail jumping and have my bail revoked ... ,” the complaint states.

On Oct. 6, Ramthun drove past the woman’s home and noticed her boyfriend’s truck was parked in the driveway of the house, which is owned by the man, according to the complaint. 

Ramthun returned later that day with a Child Protective Services caseworker to check on the welfare of her children. The truck was gone, and when asked about it being there earlier in the day, the woman said her boyfriend has not been at the house since she was released from jail. Her children, however, told authorities the man was still living at the house and had been there earlier that morning, the complaint states.

The woman’s troubles with the law began on Aug. 17 when at 11:06 p.m. an officer was called to her house by a neighbor who reported she was yelling so loudly that he could hear her even after taking his hearing aids out.

The woman’s boyfriend told officers that she became angry over a text message from his mother and was yelling and swearing at him. He said he left the home but returned after receiving a text message from the woman’s 11-year-old daughter asking him to come home because her mother was acting out, according to the complaint filed in that case, which charges the woman with disorderly conduct.

The man said he returned to the house and the woman began yelling at him again.

The officer who responded to the incident said the woman’s three children were home at the time and her 11-year-old was outside crying. She told the officer that her mother was throwing pillows, blankets and a plate, told her and her siblings she hated them and pushed her, the complaint states.

Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Adam Gerol set bail for the woman at a $1,000 signature bond and ordered her not to have violent contact with her boyfriend or 11-year-old daughter. 

Officers were called to the woman’s house again at 7:14 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, and arrived to find her boyfriend standing in the driveway. The officers said they could hear the woman yelling inside the house, according to a complaint charging her with disorderly conduct and bail jumping.

The man said the woman became angry after he asked her about sending pictures of herself naked to another man, then began breaking items in the house and stabbing a bathroom door with a knife, the complaint states.

The man said the woman was inside the house with her 12-year-old daughter, so officers entered the home and found the woman with blood on her hands. There was broken glass on the floor and a knife was found near the bathroom door. 

The woman’s daughter told officers that she was in the bathroom and could hear her mother yelling, making suicidal statements and  breaking glass, according to the complaint.

A preliminary breath test indicated the woman had an alcohol level of .228, the complaint states.

During a Sept. 8 hearing, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain set the woman’s bail at $1,500 cash and ordered her to maintain absolute sobriety, not to possess dangerous weapons and not to have contact with her boyfriend or his house.

During a hearing in the case filed against  the woman last week, Cain set her bail at $7,500 and ordered her not to have contact with her children.