Houston father gets life sentence for baby death

HOUSTON (AP) - A Houston man whose infant son died after sucking on his father's cocaine tainted fingers while teething was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

Dennis Ray Driver, 26, was convicted of felony murder Wednesday for the overdose death of his 8-month-old son, Dennis Jr. The jury also fined Driver $10,000.

Driver told investigators that he fell asleep at his apartment on Dec. 28 with his son lying on his chest. When Driver awoke, the baby wasn't breathing. The infant died the next day at the hospital.

Prosecutor Murray Newman said he didn't believe Driver fed the cocaine to his son, but allowed the infant to come in contact with it.

"We weren't trying to prove that he intentionally caused the death," Newman said. "This sends a message to parents to protect their children from any contact with illegal drugs."

Newman said medical testimony showed that a trace amount of cocaine could have caused acute cocaine toxicity in the baby, who had metabolized cocaine in his bloodstream and undigested cocaine in his stomach.

Driver's attorney, Hattie Shannon, said her client was disappointed with the verdict and the sentence. He maintained his innocence through the trial, she said.

Newman said Driver had at least eight previous convictions, including six that were related to cocaine. The Houston Chronicle reports for its Wednesday online editions that when the baby died, Driver was free on bail on a cocaine possession charge.