TOOELE — A woman was arrested in Tooele after police say left the hospital and disappeared for hours after giving birth so she could smoke fentanyl.
Veronica Rose Gourley, 33, who is listed in court documents as being homeless, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with child endangerment, a second-degree felony; and child abandonment, a third-degree felony. Early Saturday, Tooele police were called to Mountain West Medical Center when it was determined that Gourley's newborn baby needed to be flown to a hospital in Salt Lake City because it was experiencing drug withdrawal, according to charging documents. Medical staff told officers that Gourley had left the hospital and they "hadn't seen or heard from her in seven hours.""Ms.
Police say Gourley has a long history of substance abuse and had multiple warrants out for her arrest at the time she gave birth.