A second arrest has been made in a case in which police said a two-year-old boy had burns at a meth house.
Chattanooga Police earlier arrested the child's mother, Elizabeth Paige Lamb Cushwa, after they received a tip regarding a meth lab and a boy who was burned at 6393 Fairview Road. The officers found eight one-pot method labs, also known as shake-n-bakes, and a two-year-old boy who had second-degree burns on his chest and stomach.
There was also a four-year-old boy in the home who did not appear to have any injuries. Both boys, and their seven-year-old brother who was in school, were taken to Children’s Hospital for treatment and testing.
Police have now charged 33-year-old David Nicholas Prestridge with initiating the manufacture of meth, aggravated child abuse and three counts of reckless endangerment.
He was found hiding in a closet in a back bedroom at an apartment on Mayfield Lane.
Ms. Cushwa claimed the child was burned by a bathroom cleaner. She said she did not take the child to get medical treatment because the Department of Children's Services had already been to her home twice on investigations.
Ms. Cushwa, 31, has also been charged with initiating the manufacture of methamphetamine, aggravated child abuse and three counts of reckless endangerment.
Police said it was Ms. Cushwa's mother who turned her in and said the two-year-old also had a number of scars on his body. She said she had seen Prestridge at the home a number of times. The mother is the owner of the house on Fairview Road.
David Nicholas Prestridge