MESA, AZ — A Mesa grandpa and mother were arrested after a pre-teen boy was given morphine to manipulate his grandfather's drug test.
Mesa police report that on January 21, they were called to an elementary school near Gilbert Road and Southern Avenue regarding a drug overdose.
An 11-year-old boy had vomited several times and reportedly told school staff that his grandfather paid him $40 to take half a pink pill and urinate into a cup. The boy's grandfather, John Todd Davis, 61, allegedly did this so he wouldn't test positive for marijuana and would be able to get morphine medication from his pain clinic.
Police say the boy took the pill the night before and vomited five times that night. The boy's mother, Kiralee Arlene Ruck, 29, was aware of what happened and told the boy it was a morphine pill.
The victim's grandmother implored Ruck to take her son to the hospital, but she refused, even forcing the boy to go to school after vomiting two more times that morning. Ruck later told police that "she assumed he was getting better if he was vomiting."
Court records show that lab tests confirmed opiates were in the boy's system. The boy reportedly told police that "he has been taking white pills for his grandfather and urinating into a cup for over a year." He usually gets paid $20 each time, according to police.
Davis has overdosed multiple times before being revived by Mesa Fire Department paramedics, according to court records.
Davis and Ruck have been charged with child abuse.
If you suspect a child is being abused, the Arizona Department of Child Services has resources available to report the issue to a social worker. You can call the Arizona Child Abuse Hotline at 1-888-SOS-CHILD (1-888-767-2445), and will be asked for information about the child, as well as the nature of your concerns. You can also get more information from DCS about reporting abuse or neglect online.
