CLEARFIELD – A Curwensville man facing felony charges in connection with the fentanyl overdose of his 11-month-old child was sentenced to state prison Monday.
Police say the child of Raymond Matthew Nestlerode, and Amber Grace Jaeger, 29, was unresponsive when emergency medical services personnel arrived at their home on Jan. 11. It was reported that the child was possibly choking.
A report from the hospital stated that the child’s urine tested positive for fentanyl, and “this infant would likely have died without medical intervention. This is a near fatality.”
Prior to sentencing, the child’s grandmother addressed the court, saying the abuse of their children did not begin in January.
She stated that the victim had already built up a tolerance to fentanyl because of it being present in the home. The children’s clothes were all taken after the incident due to contamination and it took two shots of Narcan to bring the child back, she said.
She noted that the boy’s six-year-old sister saved his life when she alerted her parents there was something wrong with him. Since that time, she has needed psychiatric care, she said.
The boy now only sleeps a few hours at a time, and is “terrified of the playpen,” she stated.
“Both parents are responsible,” she said, adding “they both brought this upon their children.”
Judge Paul Cherry noted that this is Nestlerode’s fourth endangering the welfare charge since 2019.
“When is he going to wake up and protect his children instead of endangering them?”
After Nestlerode said he had nothing to say, Cherry admonished him asking, “what about I’m sorry?” before stating that Nestlerode was not showing any remorse for his actions.
Cherry sentenced him to eight months to two years in state prison with five years consecutive probation for felony endangering the welfare of children.
On a separate driving under the influence charge from 2023, he was given an additional sentence of 12 months to two years, giving Nestlerode a total prison sentence of 20 months to four years.
If he participates in the state drug treatment program, he will complete an additional five years of probation.
Cherry prohibited him from having contact with the kids unless it is approved by Children, Youth and Family Services.
“I need to protect these children,” he said.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, when the child was treated at Penn Highlands Clearfield, he was given Canard, which woke him up. He was then transported to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh by helicopter.
Police were told by medical personnel at Penn Highlands that the mother, Jaeger appeared to be under the influence of drugs. The trooper noted in his report that she was falling asleep and “had erratic behavior consistent with a person being under the influence of drugs.”
Later that day, another trooper spoke with Nestlerode at their residence and the home was searched.
Officers reportedly found 26 hypodermic needles, fentanyl test strips, a spoon with suspected drug residue, a digital scale and other drug paraphernalia.
In her interview with investigators, Jaeger said the kids were playing in the living room while she was folding clothes in the bedroom.
When Nestlerode got home, she said the boy was lying on the kitchen floor and she thought “he was napping.” She claimed she checked on him and he was fine.
Later, while she was in the bathroom, her six-year-old daughter knocked on the door saying there was something wrong with her brother. She went to the kitchen where she said her son “was blue.”
She stated that she tried to do CPR on him, “but his teeth were clinched tight and when she picked him up, he was limp.”
At this point, Nestlerode called 911, she said.
During the interview, she admitted her husband, Nestlerode, had a history of drug use and she had relapsed recently. Both had used fentanyl at some point, she said.
When the trooper checked Jaeger’s arms, he noted there were suspected needle stick marks on each arm.
Nestlerode when questioned, told the same basic story saying after he got home his son was lying on the floor sleeping and both he and Jaeger checked on him.
Just moments later, his daughter alerted them that some was wrong with the boy who he said was “passed out cold.”
He eventually admitted that he had snorted and injected fentanyl a couple months ago.
A review of the 911 call revealed a female voice in the background, believed to be Jaeger saying “I’m thinking it’s drugs. It has to be something to do with drugs.”
Jaeger was also charged with three counts of felony endangering the welfare of a child, two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and possession of drug paraphernalia. She has signed a plea agreement and is scheduled for sentencing in July.
In October 2019, Nestlerode pleaded guilty to felony endangering the welfare of a child and was sent to state prison for 15 months to three years.
According to a previous article, Nestlerode’s daughter was found standing in the middle of a roadway, wearing only a t-shirt and a diaper in June 2019.
When the police returned her to their home, no one answered the door even after they banged on it and shouted for several minutes.
When he did answer, it took him several more minutes to get downstairs. He was “disheveled and wearing pajama pants,” with a syringe tangled in his long hair.
He admitted to police that he was the sole caretaker for the girl and was not sure how long it had been since he had last seen her.