By Nikki Gaskins
ngaskins@abcnews4.com
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — According to North Charleston Police, on Nov. 25, a 7-year-old boy dialed 911 after he found himself alone inside his apartment home on Aster Drive. His parents were nowhere to be found.
Police then went to the home to make sure the boy was OK. Around the same time, the boy's parents were finally arriving back to the home. As investigators were about to enter the apartment, they said one of the officers was "overwhelmed" with the odor of marijuana coming from inside the place.
While police found the boy safe inside the apartment, they searched it and saw "loose, green plant material" on nearly every surface of the apartment including on all tables, dressers and in the bedroom.
Police also said they located several large stacks of cash, a pistol reported stolen through the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office, and what appeared to be crack cocaine.
Police said that the young boy's mother told them that the drugs and guns were all hers. She also stated that the gun was given to her by "some dude named Patrick."
The boy's father told investigators that he knew there was marijuana inside the apartment and that he smokes it.
The couple's apartment sits adjacent to Morningside Middle School. The 7-year-old was placed in the custody of his grandmother. In the incident report, the dad reportedly told police they left their son home alone to go to a nearby Walmart.
Tyra Lee Smith, 34, and Charles Daniel McLeod, 28, were arrested on various drug charges. They faced a judge in bond court Sunday in Charleston County. Their bond was each set between $45,000 and $50,000.
Tyra Lee Smith
