Warren sentenced to prison term for possession, child abuse

A man who exposed at least one child to illegal drugs was sentenced to 20-60 months in prison on Wednesday for methamphetamine possession and 30-60 months for child abuse. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively.

On Sept. 6 Justin Warren, 30, of Kimball pled no contest to possession of methamphetamine, a class IV felony and child abuse, a class IIA felony. The Cheyenne County court accepted these pleas.

Warren entered into an agreement with the state, pleading no contest to possession of methamphetamine and child abuse in place of earlier charges which held a heftier sentence. Warren was previously charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and habitual criminality, according to the agreement.

According to the court’s factual basis for accepting Warren’s plea, law enforcement served a warrant to the man’s residence in March of this year. Officials found marijuana and more than 12 grams of methamphetamine in Warren’s bedroom during the search.

Multiple children shared this residence with Warren. One of the children, a seven year old, was confirmed to have marijuana and methamphetamine in his or her system. Levels of methamphetamine detected in the child’s hair indicated that he or she had been exposed to the drug on a chronic basis in the three months prior to testing. No other possible sources of exposure to the drug were found during the investigation, except in the residence shared with Warren.

All children in the home were removed by law enforcement and placed in the custody of Health and Human Services. All submitted hair samples for drug testing.