Erratic Driver Charged with Child Neglect

                                                                                                                  NEWS RELEASE #: 17-058 - FEBRUARY 2, 2017

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office arrested an Osprey woman for Child Neglect and drug possession after first responders caught her passing off methamphetamine to a 5-year-old child.

Deputies were first made aware of the suspect's erratic driving around 5:15 p.m. Monday night, when several witnesses traveling along Tamiami Trail in Sarasota called 911. According to the callers, Shayna Delaney, DOB 06/11/82, stopped in the middle of the road and was seen talking to herself, throwing her hands in the air and falling asleep at the wheel, before pulling off into the parking lot of a Wells Fargo, located at 4794 Tamiami Trail. When deputies arrived, they made contact with Sarasota County Fire Department personnel who indicated that when they approached Delaney's vehicle, she was attempting to conceal a prescription pill bottle by handing it to a 5-year-old child in the back seat. Within the bottle, deputies seized two straws consistent with drug use and .3 grams of methamphetamine. The child was safely released to relatives.

Delaney, of 106B Glenwood Avenue, was arrested and charged with felony Child Neglect without Great Bodily Harm, Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Narcotic Equipment. She remains in custody today without bond. Delaney has prior arrests in Sarasota County including in December 2016 when she was charged by the Venice Police Department with Child Neglect, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Narcotic Equipment, and two counts of Resisting Arrest.

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Shayna Delaney