Parents Found Passed Out in Vehicle with Heroin, Needles and 3 Young Children: Police

Left: Nathaniel Lehman, 28, of Shenandoah. Right: Ashley Craig, 25, of Shenandoah.

Two parents from Shenandoah are facing felony child endangerment charges after police allegedly found them passed out in their vehicle, along with their three children, heroin and needles.

According to the criminal complaint, Hatfield Township Police were stopped in the parking lot of Wawa, located along the 100 block of Bethlehem Pike, at 2:25 a.m. on Sept. 24 when an officer allegedly observed a male in a Ford Explorer slumped over the steering wheel while the vehicle was running. Police said they observed an uncapped syringe and metal spoon with white residue in the lap of the male, at which point they made contact with the driver — identified as 28-year-old Nathaniel Lehman.

Lehman was immediately removed from the vehicle and detained without incident, police said. Police also observed Lehman’s three children in the vehicle, all under the age of 5 years old, as well as the children’s mother — identified as 25-year-old Ashley Craig.

When asked if there was any heroin inside the vehicle, Lehman reportedly pointed to a box that had been on his lap, police said. Inside of the box, police recovered nearly 60 small bags of heroin along with numerous empty syringes, all of which Lehman said were his, the report states.

Craig was also detained by police, at which point she allegedly stated that she and Lehman had traveled to the Philadelphia area to purchase heroin, and they were on their way back home when they decided to stop in the Wawa parking lot to take a break, the report states.

As a result of the incident:

  • Lehman has been charged with three felony counts of endangering the welfare of children, along with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment, DUI, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
  • Craig has been charged with three felony counts of endangering the welfare of children and three misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment.

Both Lehman and Craig were arraigned on Sept. 24 by Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy, who set bail for both parents at $20,000 cash. Lehman and Craig were both remanded to county jail after failing to post bail, and they both have preliminary hearings scheduled for Oct. 6 in front of Judge Duffy.

(All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.)

See also:

Former Teacher At Germantown Academy Accused Of Sexual Relationship With High School Student

County Detectives Arrest Montgomery Township Man On Child Pornography Charges

Ft. Washington Man Charged With 300 Counts Of Possession Of Child Pornography

Harleysville Man Charged With Stealing $484,000 From Family Business

Police Allege Caregiver Left Woman Outside Overnight, Brutally Assaulted Her In Morning

 HTML tutorial