Two people have been arrested and charged after they were found passed out in a car with a toddler.
On Saturday around 12:50 p.m., officers were on the scene at Walmart, located at 10820 Kings Road, for a shoplifting call, a police report from the Horry County Police Department says. A responding officer was flagged down for two people “appearing passed out in a vehicle with a toddler in the back seat.”
The officer was directed to a silver Lexus and found three people “asleep” in the car, the report also says. One female suspect, identified as 22-year-old Ashley Justice Bowman, was in the driver seat, a male suspect, identified as 24-year-old Jason Scott Wagner, was in the front passenger seat, and a 2-year-old boy was in a car seat in the back seat of the vehicle.
According to the report, the officer saw a burned-out cigarette on top of a plastic bag with a hole and burn marks in Bowman’s lap and another burned-out cigarette in Wagner’s lap.
The officer says in the report the scene “appeared consistent with ‘nodding off’ as a result of drug use” and neither suspect woke up when the officer arrived.
The officer also noticed the car was running with the air conditioner on, the report states. He opened the driver door, reached in, and removed the keys to “avoid a potential dangerous pursuit.” He then opened the rear passenger door to check on the child. The child “appeared in good health and not overheated.” Both suspects were taken into custody and the officer restarted the car to keep the air conditioning running for the child.
When EMS crews arrived, both suspects were evaluated, according to the report. EMS crews determined neither needed immediate medical treatment. However, the report says both suspects appeared to be intoxicated with slow speech and “limited impairment to their motor skills.”
The report also says both suspects were read their Miranda rights and stated they understood these. Shortly after, EMS crews notified officers that Bowman had said she had heroin in her bra. A female officer was requested to retrieve the substance. Both suspects were arrested for “public disorderly conduct.”
During a search of Bowman, officers found Oxycodone and a substance described in the report as “suspected heroin.” Officers also found a cigarette pack containing “rolling papers,” a plastic bag with “a green leafy substance” that looked and smelled like marijuana during a search of the vehicle.
According to the report, during this incident, Bowman also told officers her mother and mother’s boyfriend, identified in the report as 40-year-old Billy Randolph Burchell III, were inside Walmart shopping. When both arrived at the scene, police say they told Bowman’s mother the child “would likely be able to be released” into her custody to wait for the arrival of DSS.
The report also says Burchell “appeared to be avoiding contact” with officers. Walmart staff told police Burchell was observed “stuffing something down his pants” and making movements near a burgundy vehicle before coming to the scene. Police searched Burchell and found nothing. Officers also say they found what appeared to be a “powder substance ground into the ground” in the area where Burchell had been. The report states field test kits were not available and the substance was not able to be recovered.
Officers say they were initially unable to identify Burchell because the information he gave police was not found in a NCDMV search or a fingerprint search, according to the report. An officer says in the report they were uncomfortable releasing the child to the mother because of the inability to identify Burchell. A DSS agent responded and took custody of the child.
Booking records from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center show Bowman and Wagner were booked around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Bowman is charged with public disorderly/public intoxication, unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person by a legal custodian, possession of other controlled substance in schedule I to V, and possession of a narcotic. She was released around 12:15 p.m. on Monday on about $9,250 bond. Wagner is charged with public disorderly/public intoxication and simple possession of marijuana. He was released around 12:45 p.m. on Sunday on about $865 bond.
