Parents charged in Allentown toddler’s drug death

The parents of a 22-month-old child who died three years ago from drug exposure face charges in his death, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, Allentown police filed charges against Jayleen Rivas-Rodriguez, 35, and Jorge Suarez-Santiago, 32, in the April 2021 death of Johansy Suarez-Rivas.

Rivas-Rodriguez, of Allentown, and Suarez-Santiago, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, face a felony charge of third-degree murder. They have not been arraigned as of Wednesday.

Allentown police wrote in court documents that Johansy died April 5, 2021, at St. Luke’s Hospital-Sacred Heart. He had been taken to the hospital because he was not breathing, and he died there shortly after, police said. The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said Johansy died from fentanyl toxicity.

During the investigation into Johansy’s death, police found both parents were active heroin users at the time, charging documents allege. The two admitted to using heroin hours before Johansy died, police said.

Suarez-Santiago’s system tested positive for amphetamines, cocaine, fentanyl and cannabinoids, that day, according to investigators. He was alone with Johansy for a few hours while Rivas-Rodriguez left the apartment, which was on Eighth Street in Allentown, court documents state.

Rivas-Rodriguez told authorities she gave Suarez-Santiago a packet of heroin before leaving the apartment, police said. She said when she left the apartment, Suarez-Santiago was visibly and significantly intoxicated, to the point that he was repeatedly dropping things from his hand, according to charging documents.

He told police he fell asleep for several hours while watching Johansy, officials said.

Police wrote in court documents that investigators believe Johansy was exposed to and ingested a lethal amount of fentanyl while under the care of his parents. They consciously disregarded the “extremely high risk” that their reckless use and handling of drug near Johansy, police said.

“The actions of Jorge Suarez and Jayleen Rivas were reckless and grossly negligent and were the direct cause of the
death of Johansy,” Detective Joseph Beiner wrote in charging documents.

Warrants have been filed for their arrests.