A 23-year-old East Texas mother, Jada Speight, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after fentanyl pills were discovered inside her infant daughter’s diaper last year.
Speight pleaded guilty to manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance weighing between four and 200 grams. The court handed down the 10-year sentence following her plea.
The arrest occurred in the early morning of May 6, 2024. Speight and the baby’s father, Dredarian Ester, were pulled over by a deputy at a 7-Eleven on Van Highway in Tyler. Their 6-month-old daughter was in the backseat. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy smelled marijuana and, after speaking with the couple, suspected drugs might be hidden in the baby’s clothing.
As Speight changed the baby’s diaper, the deputy spotted a pill bottle concealed inside. The contents were identified as suspected fentanyl pills. Ester admitted to hiding the pills in the diaper.
Ester pleaded guilty in October 2024 to several charges, including manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, and possession of a prohibited substance in a correctional facility. He was sentenced to 40 years for the drug charge, and 20 years each for the other two charges, to be served concurrently with the 40-year sentence.
