Child Found in Trunk of Vehicle with Marijuana

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Nov 12 2012 1:20 PM

 

Henry County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jesse Ingram found more than he was searching for after stopping a Gray Mitsubishi Eclipse traveling Southbound on U.S. 431 in Abbeville late Saturday night.

 

Sgt. Ingram stopped the vehicle for a minor traffic violation and was in the process of issuing the driver, identified as 30 year-old Mariea Smith of Midland City, a warning citation when he detected the strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle interior. Sgt. Ingram further noticed that two male passengers in the vehicle were extremely nervous for a routine traffic-stop.

 

Deputies then had the three occupants step out of the vehicle so that a probable cause search for contraband could be conducted at which time one of the male passengers, identified as Anthony Darrell Smith, age 31, also of Midland City, told authorities that the trunk would not open. When Sgt. Ingram attempted to open the trunk, Smith insisted he did not want authorities to open the trunk of the vehicle because he did not want them to wake up his five year-old son who was sleeping inside.

 

Authorities did open the trunk and found a five year-old male inside asleep on top of a plastic garbage bag that contained more than two pounds of high-grade marijuana. At that point, Mariea and Anthony Darrell Smith along with 23 year-old Jerome Jackson of Dothan were taken into custody and charged with First Degree Possession of Marijuana. The Department of Human Resources was immediately contacted and is also involved in an ongoing investigation with Henry County Sheriff’s Deputies. 

 

“It’s a sad day when a parent, or any adult for that matter, puts a child in danger to conceal illegal drugs. The vehicle could have been rear-ended, he could have suffocated from carbon monoxide, there’s just so much that could have happened to that child”, said Sheriff Will Maddox.

 

According to Sheriff Maddox, Anthony Darrell Smith recently bonded out of the Henry County jail on charges of assaulting an officer last month near Abbeville when he was arrested Saturday night. The two male subjects are currently in the Henry County Jail awaiting first appearance and the female was released on a $6,000.00 bond. 

 

“You never know what you’ll find when you’re searching for illegal drugs but this is as low as a person can get. I’m hopeful that this new charge will put him (Smith) where he needs to be”, said Sgt. Jesse Ingram. 

 

The street value of the marijuana is estimated at $5,500.00. 

 

Henry County Sheriff’s Investigators are expected to file several additional felony charges against the trio when the investigation is complete.

 

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