Police: Passed-out man had baby in car
May 18—EAU CLAIRE — A 29-year-old Eau Claire man is facing multiple charges after being found passed out behind the wheel of a running vehicle with an infant in the back seat.
The Eau Claire County District Attorney's Office filed a criminal complaint Monday against Beau J. Peterson, a resident of a local halfway house, with five felony charges and one misdemeanor tied to events that led to his arrest on May 3.
Charges against him are second-degree recklessly endangering safety, child neglect, attempted possession of narcotics, operating with a restricted controlled substance in his bloodstream with a minor in the vehicle, and drug paraphernalia possession.
At Peterson's initial appearance in Eau Claire County Court on Tuesday morning, Judge John Manydeeds set a signature bond for Peterson. Conditions of the bond require Peterson to maintain absolute sobriety and prohibits contact with the infant unless the county Human Services Department approves of it.
According to the criminal complaint, passersby called police on May 3 when they saw a man who was slumped over the steering wheel of a car and did not wake up when people tried to get his attention.
An Eau Claire police officer arrived to find a Mitsubishi Outlander backed up next to a business with an unresponsive man behind the wheel, his foot on the accelerator. There was a six-month-old infant in the rear seat that did not appear to be in distress.
The officer noticed a gem bag commonly used to hold drugs on the man's lap and a hypodermic needle next to him on the armrest.
The officer spoke loudly to wake the unconscious man, who then acted surprised and frantically moved to hide items in the car. With his Taser drawn, the officer told the man to stay still and say where he hid the needle. During a search of the vehicle, the officer found two hypodermic needles, the gem bag, a small tin with residue inside and a used vial with a small amount of clear liquid left inside.
At the scene of the arrest, Peterson denied using drugs, but was later cooperative when he was being treated at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital.
He admitted to using suboxone — an opioid-containing prescription drug used to treat drug addiction — and injecting a substance he believed to be heroin earlier that day. Peterson also spoke about a friend who was in his car and administered the anti-overdose drug Narcan to him before fleeing by the time bystanders arrived.
Police tests of the small tin and the gem bag found in Peterson's car came back positive for methamphetamine residue, but were inconclusive for heroin. Peterson told police he did not like meth and believed the items should've tested positive for heroin instead.
A hair sample from the infant was tested for exposure to drugs. The test came back positive for meth, cocaine, marijuana and opiates.
