A Melcher Dallas man was arrested Wednesday on two felony counts of child endangerment and neglect or abandonment of a dependent from an incident that allegedly occurred in May.

At approximately 2:15 pm on May 21st, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call of a child that was choking and unresponsive in Melcher-Dallas. First responders arrived on scene, and the child was life-flighted to Mercy Downtown in Des Moines, where they were placed on life support. Police say while the minor was in the custody and care of the suspect, 29-year-old Andrew Murphy, they became exposed to fentanyl and began overdosing. During the incident,  Murphy did not call for emergency services, rather transporting the child to multiple locations before emergency services were notified. During the investigation, multiple witnesses identified Murphy to be under the influence of narcotics and that he operated a vehicle with the child inside.

Murphy has been charged with two Class C felonies for child endangerment resulting in serious injury and abandonment or neglect of a dependent person.