Baker County deputies arrested an 11-year-old's mother and brother and another teen after deputies learned the boy smoked meth.
Deputies began investigating after they saw three people walk out from behind Macedonia Store on County Road 23 on Oct. 2.
A deputy stopped the three males -- ages 21, 16 and 11 -- and asked for their identification.
They appeared to be very nervous and the deputy saw a clear baggie hanging from the pocket of one male, according to the police report.
The deputy asked what was in the bag and Brandon Vankuren, 21, put both hands in his pocket.
Deputies placed Vankuren in handcuffs and asked the 16-year-old who was with him if he had anything illegal on him.
The teen told deputies he had meth in his pocket and Vankuren admitted he also had meth on him, the report says.
According to deputies, the 11-year-old was acting strangely and talking very fast. His pupils were extremely dilated and he was having trouble completing sentences.
He was taken to the emergency room for treatment of an elevated heart rate and eventually told officers he'd smoked meth on three occasions.
The boy's mom, 46-year-old Angela Ritter, was arrested on an unrelated matter, according to deputies.
Deputies questioned her while she was at the Baker County Jail. She told deputies that she had told the 11-year-old to go to sleep and did not know he had left with his 21-year-old brother.
She said she was aware that Vankuren uses meth.
She was charged with cruelty toward a child, a third-degree felony, and several drug charges.
Baker County deputies said the 11-year-old was acting strangely when he and two others were stopped around 5 a.m. He told deputies it wasn't the first time he'd smoked meth:
Posted by Action News Jax on Monday, October 9, 2017
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