Sayyadina Thomas
BERKELEY – A 2-year-old boy was playing in People’s Park enjoying a sunny afternoon with his nanny, until a stranger approached and fed him some methamphetamine.
The toddler’s alarmed nanny saw a woman put something into his mouth. The nanny immediately checked his mouth, but found nothing because the boy apparently swallowed it.
She called the University of California Police Department to report what happened at the park, which is owned by the university. It’s located downtown near the U.C. Berkeley campus off Telegraph Avenue—popular with homeless people and drug users, and frequently a crime hotspot.
U.C. police and paramedics responded to the incident which occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. on June 5. The toddler was taken to a hospital for medical treatment, where it was determined that the boy had been given methamphetamine.
Police located the woman suspected of drugging the boy, Sayyadina M. Thomas, 36, of Oakland. While she was being transported for psychiatric evaluation, paramedics said the suspect admitted that she had given the boy methamphetamine.
Thomas struggled with police officers before being arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder the toddler. She’s also charged with resisting a police officer, battery with injury to a police officer, assaulting a police officer, and resisting an executive order.
The suspect was booked at Santa Rita Jail at 11:35 a.m. on June 6, ineligible for release on bond.
Thomas has a record of at least five prior felony and misdemeanor arrests dating back to 2002. A June 8 court hearing is scheduled to consider revoking her supervised probation from a recent conviction.
