The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a woman who was found passed out with drugs within reach of her five-month-old son.
Deputies arrived at 4624 Sloan Avenue, Sarasota, just before 8:00 p.m., last night after an anonymous caller requested a welfare check on a child. They found Andrea Keesling, DOB 5/29/70, unconscious and hanging off a reclining chair. Keesling’s infant son was strapped in a car seat on the floor of the home with what later turned out to be a crushed codeine pill about one foot away from him.
The child, who has Down Syndrome, was hungry and in need of a diaper change. After numerous attempts to wake Keesling, she came-to when deputies shook her.
Keesling is charged with Child Neglect, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Obstruction. Keesling has an extensive criminal history of drug arrests, DUI and prescription fraud. The child is now in DCF custody.