Wylie pleaded not guilty and his bond was set at $10,000 during his video arraignment.
EARLIER REPORT
The man whose 13-year-old son died after allegedly doing his father’s drugs has been indicted on felony charges, but not for homicide, prosecutors said Friday.
Robert Wylie, 40, was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury for endangering children and two counts of having weapons under disability — all third-degree felony charges. He will be arraigned Tuesday morning in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
Prosecutors alleged Friday that Wylie waited hours before seeking medical help for his son.
RELATED: Nathan Wylie died of ‘anoxic brain injury’
Nathan Wylie died April 1 after being found unresponsive on March 28 when his father took him to a nearby Dayton Fire Station on South Broadway Street.
“There was insufficient evidence to determine where or from whom the child obtained any drugs and, therefore, homicide charges could not be brought against the defendant,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said in a press release.
RELATED: Dayton father of teen who OD’d wants evidence tossed, bond lowered
Wylie’s co-worker, who was at the scene, told police Robert Wylie was “on drugs and the boy got into his stuff,” a Dayton police report said.
Nathan died of an “anoxic brain injury” due to suspected drug intoxication and the cause was accidental, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
RELATED: 13-year-old overdose victim had a ‘big heart’
Nathan’s death certificate also said the toxic substance was not identified. Prosecutors had said they were waiting to review toxicology results before possibly bringing charges.
The prosecutor’s office release said Nathan was found “unconscious, unresponsive, suffering from shallow breathing” inside an RV in which he and his father had been living in the 1200 block of South Broadway Street.
RELATED: Police saw prior drug use in house of 13-year-old who died of OD
Wylie, “suspecting an overdose, but knowing there was a warrant out for his arrest, waited several hours before seeking medical help for the child,” Heck’s press release said, noting that Nathan never regained consciousness after he was taken to Miami Valley Hospital.
Wylie has been held in the Montgomery County Jail on unrelated charges from a Dec. 17 traffic stop. His bond was set at $100,000.
RELATED: Funeral for 13-year-old who died from suspected OD
Wylie’s attorney sought to suppress evidence from the traffic stop, and testimony revealed that Nathan was in the car that day with his father, who was found with heroin and cocaine, according to officers.
In a bond hearing in the December case, defense attorney Kristine Comunale said there was no indication that more serious charges related to Nathan’s death would be initiated.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow Mark Gokavi on Twitter or Facebook
Prosecutors opposed any bond modification and called Wylie “a key suspect” in Nathan’s death.
About the Author