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Bucks Dad Who OD'd While Watching Toddler Sentenced

The Bucks County father who overdosed while watching his 2-year-old daughter will spend years in state prison, authorities say. 

Justin Kearns

Justin Kearns

Photo Credit: Bucks County District Attorney's Office

Justin Kearns, 36, of Warminster, was sentenced to three-and-a-half to seven years at a hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 17, said District Attorney Matthew Weintraub in a statement. Kearns was previously convicted at trial in October for felony child endangerment. 

According to evidence reviewed in court, police were called to Kearns' home at the Yorktown Village Complex on Sept. 11, 2020, for a welfare check. The caller told dispatchers she was locked out of her home, that her young daughter and boyfriend were inside, and that her boyfriend "appeared to be passed out."

On arrival, police could not wake Kearns by banging on the window, the DA said. They broke the glass storm door and kicked in the front door to find Kearns unresponsive. 

His 2-year-old daughter was roaming the house and playing in a puddle of dish soap on the floor, investigators said. 

Police at the scene noted "suspected drug paraphernalia" on the floor of the home, and a search warrant for Kearns' medical records revealed that he was treated for a heroin overdose that day, Weintraub added. 

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