CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The hospitalization of a 5-month-old child has led to the conviction of a Saint Albans man on drug and neglect charges.
Kanawha County Court documents indicate that, on June 21, 2024, David Lee Mallo reported having discovered his 5-month-old child unresponsive. After being transported to CAMC Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the child was discovered to have had a temperature of 105 degrees and had tested positive for methamphetamine.
The condition of the child led law enforcement officers to make contact with Mallo at his residence to obtain further details. Upon speaking with law enforcement, Mallo was asked to perform a series of field sobriety tests. The agreed upon tests ultimately indicated that Mallo showed signs of impairment, according to investigating officers.
Law enforcement was reportedly permitted to conduct a search of the residence following the conducting of the tests. This led to the location of a substance inside suspected by investigators to have been methamphetamine, a controlled substance.
According to the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, 27-year-old David Lee Mallo was convicted on charges of Child Neglect causing Serious Bodily Injury, two counts of Child Neglect Creating a Substantial Risk of Bodily Injury, and Simple Possession of a Controlled Substance in relation to the investigation on Wednesday, November 13, 2024. The conviction came by virtue of a guilty plea.
Sentencing for Mallo is expected to take place on January 8, 2024. The Kanawha County resident faces a maximum penalty of imprisonment at a state correctional facility for eleven years and six months.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Kanawha County, Madison Tuck, and was investigated by members of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office. The Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spoke positively of the work conducted in the investigation and throughout the case as a whole by members of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.
