DSP News Release:  Lewes Woman Charged with Tainting Child’s Sandwich   

Location:

• 16000 block Grandview Drive Lewes, De (Donovan Smith MHP)

DATE and TIME:

• June 8, 2011

Victim(s):

• 11 year old Lewes child (male)

Defendant(s) Charge(s) and Bond Information:

• Joanna E. Dize-33 Lewes, DE
• Distribution of a Oxycodone a Narcotic Schedule II Controlled Substance to a Minor
• Reckless Endangering First Degree
• Obtaining Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation Fraud
• Endangering the Welfare of a Child
• Unlawfully Administering Drugs
• Released after posting $11,000 secured bond

 Resume:

Lewes, De-Delaware State Police have charged Joanna E. Dize-33 of Lewes following an investigation into alleged Unlawful Administering of a Drug, Child Endangerment and related crimes. 

Delaware State Police detectives during their investigation received anonymous information which suggested that Joanna E. Dize was crushing Oxycodone and then placing it into her 11 year old son’s peanut butter sandwich for him to eat.  Dize is alleged to have performed this act to deceive analysis testing her for substance abuse when she reports to have her prescriptions refilled.  

Dize on June 8, 2011 arrived for her monthly appointment at Compassionate Pain Management and provided a urine sample as required.  The urine sample is used to determine whether the client is properly utilizing their prescription medication. 

When Dize’s specimen was immediately analyzed it was found to have trace amounts of opiates and Oxycodone.  Also discovered during the testing procedure was an abnormality in the temperature of the urine sample. 

A second test was performed on Dize which returned similar traces of opiates and Oxycodone; however this sample additionally contained cocaine.  Based on the preliminary information obtained through the testing procedure it appears the specimens supplied by Dize on June 8^th were from two different individuals. 

Delaware State Police detectives obtained search warrants for the specimens Dize provided to Compassionate Pain Management as well as DNA “Buccal” swabs of Dize’s three children to compare against the urine. 

As a result of an analysis conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner it was determined that one of the samples containing opiates and Oxycodone Dize provided on June 8^th was that of her son. 

The urine specimen tested positive for “Oxymorpone” a metabolized version of Oxycodone, which meant the pills were ingested by the 11 year old victim.  Dize is alleged to have tainted the victim’s peanut butter sandwich for the previously described purposes.  

State Police arrested Dize on August 22^nd charging her with Distribution of a Narcotic Schedule II Controlled Substance to a Minor, Reckless Endangering First Degree, Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation Fraud, Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Unlawfully Administering a Drug.