LAPORTE | LaPorte County officers arrested two people Thursday after finding heroin and a toddler in a home, police said.
Eric Slayton, 32, of LaPorte, and Aldo Zappitelli, 20, of Knox, were taken into custody Thursday on charges of Class B felony dealing in a Schedule I substance and Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
LaPorte County police Maj. John Boyd said he could not disclose many details about the activities that allegedly went on inside the home.
However, Boyd said the amount of heroin seized generates suspicions that heroin was being dealt in the presence of a child.
"They had enough there to make a case for it," Boyd said.
The LaPorte County Metro Operations Unit and Indiana Department of Child Services were called Thursday to investigate the welfare of a 3-year-old child in a home in the 1600 block of Ohio Street.
The investigation quickly revealed possible illegal activity in the home, and the arrests were made during a search of the residence, police said.
It was learned that Zappitelli is wanted in Michigan on a warrant for burglary, police said. He is being held without bond pending extridiction to that state.
The child belonged to a woman inside the home during the arrests, Boyd said.
LaPorte Metro Operations Detective John Butcher said it's believed the woman and child had been staying at the residence for the past few weeks.
About 5 grams of heroin and less than 30 grams of marijuana were seized from the residence, Butcher said.
What else might have been seized was not disclosed because the investigation continues.
"That was our main focus was to make sure the child was safe, and it snowballed from there," Butcher said.
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