ORWIGSBURG — The Dauphin County woman whom prosecutors allege allowed a little girl to eat from a bag of methamphetamine in April in Wayne Township is headed to Schuylkill County Court after waiving her right to a preliminary hearing on five charges resulting from the incident.
Leanne E. Popp, 24, of 312 S. Harrisburg St., Oberlin, faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. Prosecutors withdrew three counts of aggravated assault.
Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier, who was to have presided over Popp’s hearing on May 2, instead bound over the five remaining charges for court. He allowed Popp to remain free on $25,000 unsecured bail pending further court action.
State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Popp with allowing a 22-month-old girl to eat the meth about 9:30 a.m. April 9 at 1022 Pueblo Dive, Lake Wynonah.
When interviewed, Popp said the girl ate the meth and then started seizing up, according to police. She also said the girl’s mouth closed and her eyes got big, police said.
Police said the girl was flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown area, where she was sedated and put in a medically induced coma.
When police searched the residence, they discovered baggies, including one they believe contained meth, a tube, two homemade pipes, a bong, and a cut straw and a piece of glass they also believe contained meth residue, according to prosecutors.
Popp’s co-defendant, John A. Kemmerer, 26, of Orwigsburg, has his preliminary hearing in the case scheduled for noon May 15 before Ferrier. He faces three counts of aggravated assault and one each of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.
Kemmerer is free on $25,000 straight cash bail pending further court action.
Contact the writer: pbortner@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6014.
Defendant: Leanne E. Popp
Age: 24
Residence: Oberlin
Charges: Possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person