Child Abuse Charges for Man Deputies Watched Inject Teen with Drugs

Whether it was impeccable timing or an incredible coincidence, two Sarasota County deputies landed a twofer in the arrest department while trying to serve a warrant Thursday night.

When deputies arrived at the Loma Linda Street home around 7 p.m. to serve the arrest warrant for one man, they saw another man through the window putting a needle into a teenage girl’s arm.

“The front door of the house was slightly ajar, so we remained outside the residence, opened the door and yelled ‘Sheriff’s Office,’” one of the deputies wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

The man who did the injecting then dropped the needle, which contained Roxicodone, into a bottle of water and ran into the kitchen. The deputy ordered him back to the front door, the report said, and the man admitted to injecting the teen with the drug.

Paramedics were called to the scene to check out the girl, who was later released to her mother’s custody. The teen’s name and age have not been released.

The man, however, 20-year-old Anthony Henry now faces a felony count of child abuse, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence charges.

Henry remained behind bars Friday afternoon. The man the warrant was meant to be served on was also jailed, deputies noted.