Woman arrested after her baby was admitted to the hospital for methamphetamine exposure

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jalyn Virginia Brownworth, 32, was arrested yesterday after a local hospital reported that her five-month-old baby had been exposed to methamphetamines.

On April 9, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a local hospital to assist with a Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigation that began when the infant was admitted to the hospital due to a potential drug exposure and then tested positive for methamphetamines.

The deputy reported that Brownworth has four children, but she previously lost primary custody of the older three. On April 8, she reportedly left the infant in someone else’s care, and she went to bed when she got home. Brownworth reportedly said that as soon as she got into the bed with the infant, she noticed something was wrong; she said the infant’s fists were tightly clenched, she was dazed, and she was making strange noises. Brownworth said she put the baby in a cold bath to try and soothe her, but the baby did not get any better, so she called an ambulance.

At the emergency room, while the baby was being treated, Brownworth said she called the person who had stayed with the baby and asked whether she had used a bottle of water that had been left on the bed to make formula for the baby; she reportedly told medical personnel that the water was used by another person in the household to rinse and clean needles that were reused to inject methamphetamines. She reportedly admitted that she frequently uses methamphetamines and said she had forgotten about the bottle.

The deputy reported that Brownworth told him that the person who rinsed needles in the water bottle was arrested several weeks ago, and “in the confusion,” she forgot the bottle was on the bed that she and the baby sleep on. The deputy asked Brownworth if she wanted to blame the infant’s condition on anyone else, and Brownworth reportedly said it was her fault that the infant was in the hospital. When the deputy asked how she figured out that the water bottle was the source of the drugs, Brownworth reportedly said that it “just clicked” when she arrived at the hospital. She reportedly said she has overdosed several times, and the infant’s symptoms reminded her of overdose symptoms. She said nobody else knew that the bottle had been used to rinse needles, and she had not cleaned up anything since the other household member was arrested.

The deputy reported that the child was listed as “stable” at the time of the report, but she had not returned to baseline and could not be discharged; she is currently in the custody of DCF. DCF reportedly concluded that none of the children in the home are safe, and a shelter order is being completed for all of the children, including the infant.

Brownworth has been charged with child neglect without great bodily harm. She has 12 felony convictions (one violent), three misdemeanor convictions (non-violent), and three traffic convictions; she served 26 days in the Alachua County Jail in January 2026 for driving without a valid license. She has served one state prison sentence and was released in June 2024.

Senior Judge Bo Bayer set bail at $20,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law