HAZLET, NJ – A Hazlet couple were arrested Thursday after their 1-year-old baby overdosed. When police searched their home, they uncovered a treasure trove of illegal drugs.
According to police, the parents have been criminally charged after the child experienced a suspected drug overdose in Hazlet yesterday and was then revived by responding police officers, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Both Alexander Green, 28, and Rosalia Diasio, 23, have been charged with second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Green has also been charged with numerous related second- and third-degree drug offenses.
According to police, officers from Hazlet and Holmdel responded shortly before noon on Thursday, after receiving a report of a child suffering from a medical episode in the parking lot of a shopping plaza at Middle Road and Laurel Avenue.
“Upon arriving at the location, responding officers found the victim suffering from a suspected opioid overdose. They administered naloxone to the child, reviving him, and transported him to a local hospital for emergency treatment,” the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said today.
“A subsequent search of the defendants’ home resulted in the seizure of more than 1,000 suspected alprazolam pills, as well as quantities of suspected prescription amphetamines, crystal methamphetamine, heroin, ketamine, LSD, oxycodone, and psilocybin mushrooms. Green was taken into custody without incident pending a detention hearing to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court, while Diasio was served the charges against her via a summons,” the MCPO reported.
The child is in stable condition and is now safely in the custody of a relative.
“As the national opioid epidemic has worsened, naloxone has become as much a fundamental component of a police officer’s daily toolkit as a flashlight or handcuffs – and yesterday’s events offer a textbook example of why that is,” Prosecutor Santiago said. “We recognize and commend these responding officers’ grace under pressure, which directly resulted in a young child’s life being saved.”
“A defining characteristic of the job of a police officer is never knowing what the next shift might have in store for you,” Hazlet Police Department Deputy Chief Robert Mulligan added. “These responding officers never could have known that they would be so suddenly thrust into a pressure-packed, life-or-death situation yesterday morning, and the calm, collected fashion in which they conducted themselves was nothing short of extraordinary. We couldn’t be prouder.”