WOODLAND — Jailed for the second time in less than a week, the father of deceased Woodland infant Justice Rees says he harbors no grudge against the officers who arrested him on drug-related charges Friday.
“I’m not mad that they did their jobs,” Rees, 29, said in an interview with The Davis Enterprise on Friday night at the Yolo County Jail. “I understand they want answers. I want answers, too. I want whatever will help find out what happened to my son.”
Rees was no longer in custody as of Saturday, having posted a $45,000 bail bond shortly after the newspaper interview.
His latest arrest stems from a search warrant that Yolo County sheriff’s detectives served at 1 p.m. Friday at the West El Dorado Drive home in Woodland that Rees shares with his parents, his four other children and, until her own arrest last week, Justice’s mother Samantha Lee Green.
Inside, investigators reported finding an unspecified amount of methamphetamine, a narcotics smoking pipe and ammunition. Rees was jailed on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, possession of ammunition by an ex-felon and violation of probation.
Sheriff Ed Prieto said the search was related to the ongoing investigation into Justice’s death, but declined to elaborate.
The case has mystified residents of Yolo County and beyond since Feb. 24, when Green, who had been reported missing along with her 3-week-old baby the day before, emerged alone from the Ridge Cut Slough area in Knights Landing, disheveled and screaming that she and the newborn had been kidnapped.
Searchers found Justice’s tiny body the following morning on the slough bank, his cause of death still undetermined pending further testing.
Rees told The Enterprise he has “no clue” about the source of the methamphetamine and drug pipe reportedly found in his home’s garage. He made a reference to “past recreations” — he underwent a state drug-treatment program in lieu of prison time for a grand theft case several years ago — but says he would never keep drugs in his house now.
“It was surprising, I’ll tell you that. I have no idea where it came from,” Rees said. He confirmed there were bullets in the house, but said it’s because his family shoots recreationally.
He also disputed being labeled an ex-felon, as the felony grand theft case was dismissed following his release from the drug-treatment program.
Initially jailed on suspicion of murder, Green, 23, now stands charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment; she pleaded not guilty to the felony counts during her arraignment hearing last week in Yolo Superior Court. She’s been held in lieu of $250,000 bail and is due back in court March 30.
Rees declined to comment about the ongoing investigation into Green or the lesser charges the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office opted to file against her. They carry a maximum prison sentence of 12 years if she’s convicted, as opposed to a life term for murder.
“We loved each other very much — still do,” he said of Green, whom he began dating about a year ago. “I told the world I’m going to stand by her through this. She’s not a monster. She’s an amazing mother, and my kids just want her to come home.”
Asked about reports that Justice was born with methamphetamine in his system — which Rees’ mother, Patty Rees, confirmed in a written statement last week — Rees declined to discuss the matter other than to say, “He came home from the hospital just fine, and he was born perfectly healthy.”
Sheriff’s detectives arrested Green on the morning of Feb. 28, saying the abduction claim could not be substantiated and that Green was “sole person responsible” for her baby’s death. Rees was arrested the next day on several unrelated misdemeanor warrants.
Rees appeared in court the same day as Green last Wednesday, entering into a plea deal that resulted in a year of probation and his release from jail that night. He said he had just begun to focus on mourning Justice’s death when sheriff’s detectives knocked on his door Friday and handcuffed him.
“He was only around for 20 days, and he’s touched so many lives,” Rees said of his son. “My plan now is to surround myself with my family and grieve in peace. We honestly just want to be left alone, and when we can explain everything, we will.”
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene