By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal

goliver@upstatetoday.com

CENTRAL — A Central couple were arrested and charged recently after Pickens County deputies executing an eviction order at an Easley home discovered a small quantity of marijuana in the presence of a small child under the age of 5.

Creed Hashe, chief deputy of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, said Thursday that Melissa Renee Brooks, 20, and Jerry Daniel Hopkins, 19, both of Creekside Drive, were charged with unlawful neglect of a child. Both were released from jail on $10,000 personal recognizance bonds.

Hashe said a joint investigation into the incident with the Department of Social Services resulted in the charges after the child tested positive for traces of cocaine and marijuana. The eviction order that led to the discovery took place on Walnut Hill Drive in Easley.

Arrest warrants state that on March 30, the couple used illegal drugs in the presence of the child. Warrants further state the test revealed the presence of benzoylecgonine, cocaine and marijuana and that the defendant and co-defendant were primary caregivers of the child.

Hashe said Brooks and Hopkins are no longer caregivers for the child, who has since been placed into alternative care.