Three people are facing charges after a child was placed on a ventilator as a result of allegedly ingesting a highly potent marijuana product in November.

Charges were filed on Dec. 29, 2020, against Tristan Easley, 23, and Heather Wright, 24, for endangering the welfare of a child, a Class B felony. Easley is also charged with evidence tampering. A third man, Ronald A. Shiflett, is also charged with evidence tampering.

According to a probable cause statement by John Pehle, an investigator with the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team, one of Easley’s two sons, whose age has not been released, was found unresponsive on the morning of Nov. 18, after apparently ingesting a wax, known as a “dab,” which is a concentrated form of cannabis, and an essential oil. He was taken by ambulance to Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Columbia. His current condition is not known.

Easley apparently admitted that he left the marijuana wax and eucalyptus essential oil in a place accessible to children. He told the investigator that while at the hospital, he phoned Shiflett and asked him to remove the wax and related paraphernalia from his home. Shiflett admitted to the investigator that he retrieved the items and threw them into the Missouri River so that Easley would not get in trouble with the law.

Wright, the child’s mother, who does not live in the apartment where the incident occurred, told the investigator that Easley often left the wax and other materials in a coffee table drawer that was accessible to the children, and that she had caught the boys with the wax on more than one occasion.

Both Easley and Wright are due to be arraigned in Howard County court on January 26. Shiflett is scheduled to appear for arraignment on February 25.