South Carolina Couple Arrested After Their Newborn Son Tests Positive for Fentanyl at Birth: Police

A couple in South Carolina has been arrested after law enforcement officials claim their newborn son tested positive for fentanyl at birth.

According to court documents obtained by WLOS, the baby was born in January and doctors allegedly determined their was fentanyl in the blood of the umbilical cord.

The baby boy was admitted to the natal intensive care unit he was released to his paternal grandmother on Jan. 18.

When talking with detectives, the baby’s mother, 29-year-old Brittany Christina Estepp, said she allegedly took the opioid Roxicodone while she was pregnant and it “must have been laced with fentanyl” because she doesn’t take that drug.

Following an investigation, authorities said they arrested Estepp and the baby’s father, 29-year-old Marcus Wayne Anaya Ashby, at a construction site in Chesnee.

Estepp was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child and Ashby was charged with violating home detention by resisting arrest and refusing to take a drug test, according to officials.

Never miss a story — sign up for the Front Page Detectives newsletter. Be on the scene the moment news breaks.

During his booking, Ashby allegedly told deputies there was “no point in taking the drug test because he would fail it for K2 and fentanyl.”

At the time of the arrest, Ashby is accused of attempting to flee and struggling with deputies until they were able to get him in handcuffs.

According to law enforcement officials, deputies found a suspicious substance on Ashby during the alleged struggle and additional charges may be pending.