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Dillon Edward Zack, 28, of the 500 block of Cleveland Street, Lilly Borough, was arrested on Thursday, Dec. 22, by the Pennsylvania state police in Ebensburg after a drug screening showed fentanyl in his son's system, court records show.
Zack was caring for his son when he suddenly became unresponsive and turned blue on Dec. 15. He call 911 and brought him to the ER at UPMC Altoona before he was transferred to UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, according to court documents.
During the investigation, Zack admitted to his past drug use but told the police that he had been clean since his son was born, adding that his child's mom is drug-free as is their home, according to the affidavit.
Zack has prescription methadone in his home and told investigators that his son may have had contact with the backlog of take-home doses from the clinic, as he supposedly saw the toddler put a "white object" in his mouth, as detailed in the affidavit.
But the child's drug screening was negative for methadone and Zack was "unable to provide justification as to what substance the child came in contact with," as state police wrote in the court documents.
Zack was charged with three felons for aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a victim less than 6 and a defendant 18 or older, endangering the welfare of children, and a misdemeanor for recklessly endangering another person, according to court records.
He has been held in the Cambria County Jail after failing to post 10% of his $200,000 bail, court records show.
His preliminary has been set before Magisterial District Judge Kevin J. Price on Jan. 4, 2023, at 1 p.m., according to his latest court docket.
Zack has a record of criminal driving and drug offenses dating back to 2013 in Blair and Cambria counties. His sentence of time served for his most recent case only was filed Dec. 2, 2022, in Cambria County, according to his previous dockets.
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