Police: Meth found, 2 others charged

PICKENS — A Pickens police officer was fired last Thursday, the same day Greenville County deputies said they found meth in his home and arrested him and two others.

Christopher Aaron Gilbert, 35, of 385 Duncan Road in Travelers Rest, faces three counts of unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person, according to warrants.

Pickens police chief Rodney Gregory announced Gilbert’s termination Friday, saying he was fired the previous day for being “in violation for lack of good judgment pertaining to his personal life which reasonably could create concern and affect the reputation of the city, employees and the community.”

According to warrants, investigators found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in the room where Gilbert and his 14-month-old child sleep. In addition, Gilbert’s service weapon was found loaded in the floor of the room.

Greenville County Sheriff’s Office vice and narcotics unit investigators were called to the home, along with Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services agents, after an anonymous tip about drug use involving children, deputy Drew Pinciaro said.

Investigators observed methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the home while speaking with a woman later identified as Meghan Leaghia Tesner, 22, Pinciaro said. Pinciaro said Gilbert was found asleep in the bedroom with the 14-month-old child in the room.

Pinciaro said Tesner and Gilbert are the child’s parents, while Gilbert also has two other children, ages 11 and 13, who live in the home. The two older children were at school at the time of the incident.

Investigators with the sheriff’s office’s Crimes Against Children Unit responded to the home as well, and the children were placed with an alternate caregiver after Greenville County DSS was contacted.

In addition to Gilbert and Tesner, deputies arrested Tesner’s sister Maranda Jeannette Dickerson, 26, who also lives in the home.

Tesner was charged with three counts of unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person, as well as possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia, while Dickerson was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Gilbert was released on bond, while the two women were still being held on bond at press time.

Gilbert had been employed with the Pickens Police Department since July 2013, according to Gregory.wwsasasds