A young child was on the brink of death due to a cocaine overdose, prompting swift action from emergency responders when they found the two-year-old struggling to breathe. Law enforcement officials in the United States at the Jersey Shore apprehended a 39-year-old man named Alexander T. Moles on charges of endangering a child following an incident on July 20 involving the ill toddler. Responders arrived to discover that Moles had been en route to the hospital, driving the child to the emergency room as he was experiencing respiratory distress. Paramedics administered two doses of Naloxone nasal spray, also known as NARCAN, which successfully revived the boy. NARCAN is a medication that counteracts opioid effects only if opioids are present in the system.
The toddler was transported to Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional for further medical evaluation, where subsequent blood tests revealed the presence of cocaine in the child’s system. During a court-ordered search of Moles’s Airbnb, authorities found a pill, tinfoil packets labeled as “tapentadol hydrochloride,” a plastic bag containing a white powdery substance, and multiple short plastic straws.
Following these events, a collaborative investigation was launched by the Wildwood Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit in New Jersey. A spokesperson reported that Moles was vacationing in Wildwood, New Jersey, when the toddler fell ill.
As a result of the probe, Alexander T. Moles was arrested on July 21, 2026, and charged with multiple offenses including child endangerment, cocaine possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of prescription drugs. Prosecutors warned that second-degree crimes can carry a prison term of five to ten years, while third-degree offenses can lead to three to five years of imprisonment in New Jersey State Prison. Moles was initially detained at the Cape May County Correctional Facility but was later released on bail under specific conditions three days after his arrest.
