Casper Police Arrest Man for Huffing Air Duster, Hitting Baby
A Natrona County man was arrested Friday after he allegedly huffed air duster and struck an infant.
Tristan Timothy Meyers, 22, was booked into jail on recommended charges of child abuse and unlawful use of toxic substances. He will likely make his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court at 2 p.m. Monday.
Charging papers say a Casper police officer was patrolling the area of East Second Street and Wisconsin Street at about 4:40 p.m. Friday, when the officer saw a dark blue Volkswagen stopped in the center turn lane. Two females, two males and an infant were outside the vehicle.
When the officer contacted the driver, he immediately said, "He hit the baby!"
The driver told the officer that he had picked Meyers up from the recreation center and taken him to Walmart in order to get food for Meyers. However, Meyers bought a can of "dust off" instead of food.
The driver of the vehicle began to return Meyers to the recreation center, as he was upset that Meyers had bought dust off instead of food.
While inside the vehicle, Meyers allegedly inhaled the dust off. Per the driver's account, Meyers then "blacked out" and started "hitting the baby." The driver immediately stopped the vehicle in order to prevent Meyers from hitting the infant.
Meyers reportedly bit the driver's right middle finger before a woman pulled Meyers out of the vehicle and officers showed up.
Another witness told police that Meyers struck the infant twice on the right side of the face with an open hand. According to that witness, Meyers's actions were unprovoked and only happened due to the use of the dust off.
Police collected a red can of "Ultra Duster" as evidence.
Meyers allegedly admitted that he had been using dust off for about a month prior. Regarding the incident, Meyers reportedly said, "I don't know what happened," and "I don't know. I blacked out."