Dave Munday, Post & Courier (Charleston, SC)

A North Charleston man and woman were arrested on drug charges Sunday after a 7-year-old boy called 9-1-1 saying he had been left home alone.

Charles Daniel McLeod, 28, and Tyra Lee Smith, 34, of Aster Street were charged with distribution of marijuana and crack within half mile of a school. Their apartment is near Morningside Middle School.

Smith was also charged with possession of a stolen pistol.

According to the incident report, a North Charleston police officer arrived at the apartment complex at 4725 Aster St. about 1:20 a.m. Sunday. A man and woman pulled up and said they lived there and had made a quick trip to Walmart.

When they all stepped into the apartment, the officer “was overwhelmed with the smell of marijuana,” according to the report. The officer also said he noticed “loose green plant material on nearly every surface including all tables and dressers.”

Smith showed the officer a couple of marijuana cigarettes in an ashtray and said the officer could search the apartment, according to the report.

A search of Smith’s bedroom turned up a plastic bag of marijuana on the night stand, a marijuana grinder and rolling papers, several stacks of cash and a large zip-top bag of marijuana in a closet, according to the report. The officer called for backup, Smith and McLeod were handcuffed, and the narcotics unit was called in.

According to the report, officers found 2.9 grams of marijuana on the nightstand, 9.2 grams in a dresser drawer and 114.4 grams in the closet.

Officers also found $2,000 in cash, 2.2 grams of cocaine base in a dresser drawer and a .32-caliber pistol loaded with three rounds of ammo in a kitchen cabinet, according to the report.

Smith told officers a guy named Patrick gave the gun to her. The pistol had been reported stolen in Harleyville, according to the report.

The boy was placed in his grandmother’s custody.

McLeod was released from the Charleston County jail Monday on $50,000 bail. Smith remains in jail on $45,000 bail.

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