Two drug arrests made during New Year’s Day

Dawn Smith, 25, was identified as the driver while Kayla M. Inman, 25, occupied the passenger seat. A 24-year-old Salem man was in the backseat of the car along with an infant child in a car seat.

A probable cause report, issued in connection to the incident, states Smith was nervous and visibly shaking. After granting consent to search the vehicle, deputies found a grey snap cigarette case, which contained a plastic bag filled with a crystal substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine. The report states Smith told the deputies the meth was not her property, but that if tested, she would be positive for meth.

Smith was then placed under arrest and transported to the Dent County Sheriff’s Office. When asked if she had additional contraband prior to being incarcerated in the Dent County Jail, Smith pulled several syringes out of the front of her pants, according to the report.

Smith was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance Monday, and she is currently being held on a $7,000 cash only bond.

Later that day, the same maroon Ford Explorer was found lodged against a fence post after Inman, now driving, had driven off the right side of Highway U six miles northwest of Salem at 3:05 p.m. Also with Inman was the same 24-year-old from the earlier traffic stop.

Both Inman and the passenger were not wearing seatbelts and reported minor injuries as a result of the crash, however, they refused medical treatment at the scene.

Inman was then arrested for driving while intoxicated – drugs, possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana and failure to wear a seatbelt. She was booked at the sheriff’s office and later released with a court date.

The Explorer sustained moderate damage and was removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.