ICPD: Man was too drunk to care for his 9-year-old child

Lang
6/18/22

Iowa City Police have arrested a man who they say was too intoxicated to care for his nine-year-old child.

Officers were called to the Eastbrook Drive residence of 32-year-old Reginald Shipp for an unknown issue just after 9:15pm on June 1^st. An investigation determined that Shipp’s nine-year-old child was unable to wake him after he had been passed out for multiple hours. Arriving police were able to awaken Shipp, who allegedly had difficulty forming complete sentences, showed signs of intoxication, and smelled of ingested alcohol.

Investigators say Shipp failed to feed the child before passing out, and the nine-year-old had no way to contact the mother. Police eventually made contract with the mother and turned the child over to her custody due to Shipp’s reported intoxication level.

A warrant for Shipp’s arrest was issued on Thursday, and he was booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 5:15 Friday morning. Shipp is charged with Child Endangerment, an Aggravated Misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of two years in jail.