Suspect charged with felony endangerment when toddler found in street bleeding from broken glass pipe

Stock image | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Washington City man was charged with felony neglect after a toddler was found without any shoes and bleeding from a wound that was caused by a broken glass pipe that authorities said tested positive for the presence of drugs.

Terrance Eugene Davis, 36, of Washington City, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Sept. 19, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

According to charging documents filed with the 5th District Court on Monday, officers were dispatched to a report of a child found walking down the street Saturday holding broken glass.

Officers were advised the child lived in a house nearby and that the reporting party’s attempts to contact the residents were unsuccessful.

The officer arrived to find the bystander holding the small child, who was wearing no shoes with dirty, scratched feet, along with dried blood that appeared to have come from a small laceration to the toddler’s hand, the documents state.

While speaking with the bystander, the officer learned from her that about an hour before, she could hear loud crying coming from inside or near the home, and when she went outside a short while later, she became concerned when she saw the child in the middle of the roadway alone and without any shoes.

As the woman drew closer, she could see the child holding a glass pipe that was broken with burnt residue on it, and when she opened the child’s hand to remove the pipe, the report states, they noticed bleeding from a cut to the palm.

The woman removed the child from the roadway and went to the child’s home, where she banged on the front door, but after several minutes with no response, she took the child to her home and called police.

Officers recovered the pipe the child was holding and went to the toddler’s home, where they knocked “very loudly” and announced it was the police department.

After several minutes of knocking with no response, the officer went to the sliding glass door in the back of the house and again knocked. After several minutes, the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Terrance Davis, came to the door wearing only pajama pants. Davis confirmed that a child lived in the home and told police the child’s mother was at work and that he was the only adult present at the time.

The officer brought Davis outside to confirm that the child found earlier in fact lived there, and when he did so, he was placed under arrest.

While speaking with officers, the suspect confirmed that he was in charge of caring for the child when the mother was at work. When the officer inquired as to how the child managed to get outside and end up in the street, the suspect stated he and the child were “both napping” and that Davis said he was unaware of the child’s location.

When the officer asked him how the child was able to possess a glass pipe used to smoke narcotics, he told police he did not know. The officer stated that Davis went on to explain that he used “tin foil to smoke narcotics and not glass pipes.”

When the officer advised the suspect that he was responsible for the child grabbing the pipe from the residence, Davis continued to deny that it was his pipe.

Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News that a case worker with the Division of Child and Family Services was also called to the scene and placed the child in the care of a family member while Davis was arrested and transported to jail.

This case is one of five open cases involving the suspect, the first of which involved a run-in with police that took place the night before, when officers stopped Davis and later cited him for driving on a suspended license and misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia charges.

In August, Davis was charged with burglary after officers responded to a business burglary on Old Highway 91, where an employee reported that an individual broke into the business during the night. Officers viewed surveillance footage and recognized Davis from a previous incident and watched as the suspect used a tool to get inside of an employee door and subsequently observed him “leaving the room with bags that were full.”

When confronted by police, Davis said he remembered going on the property but denied taking anything. He was arrested and booked into jail and later charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor theft and was released after posting a bond on $5,690 bail.

In July, Davis was arrested and charged with felony theft and misdemeanor vehicle burglary following an incident involving the theft of more than $2,000 in work tools taken from a pickup truck.

Davis allegedly told police that he and a roommate had stolen the power tools from the back of a pickup truck and explained that his roommate had moved back to Las Vegas that same morning.

When officers searched for the second suspect, they could find no record of any such individual. Davis was arrested and booked into jail on the charges as listed. All of the tools were later recovered.

Following Saturday’s incident, Davis was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and was later charged with third-degree felony endangerment of a child and bail was set at $5,700.

He was released Monday after posting a bond and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 5th District Court on Nov. 16.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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