Woman Told Boy, 10, To Hide Meth In Pants: Cops

ADAIRSVILLE, GA — Two adults were arrested and charged and another remains at large after a traffic stop uncovered suspected methamphetamine from a pack of chewing gum that fell out the pants leg of a child.

An Adairsville police officer conducted a traffic stop around 12:50 a.m. April 28 on a beige GMC Envoy for a traffic violation. The cop spoke to the driver, identified as 56-year-old Wanda Faye Cox, and noticed two adult occupants and a 10-year-old boy inside the vehicle.

The two adults provided their names, 37-year-old Nicholas Lamar Craig of Adairsville and Francis Evonne Payton, 41, of White, and the officer retreated to his vehicle to run a check to determine if any agencies had issued warrants for their arrest. While waiting for those results, Craig allegedly got out of the vehicle and began to flee from the scene.

The Adairsville cop chased Craig, who was captured a short distance away. Another officer arrived at the location to help with handling the incident, and the first officer who responded noticed Payton was no longer in the vehicle. The boy inside the car told police the woman "got out of the vehicle and took off running" down Princeton Boulevard, which is located off Ga. 140 west of Interstate 75.

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"Upon speaking with the juvenile, an Ice Breakers gum pack fell out of his pants leg," Adairsville police said in a press release. "Upon opening the gum pack the officer observed a baggy of suspected methamphetamine inside. The juvenile male advised the officers that Cox told him to put it in his pants."

Adairsville police spokesperson Capt. Louis Dean told Patch the driver was the child's step-grandmother.

Craig and Cox, who also lives in Adairsville, were arrested and transported to the Bartow County Jail. Craig was charged with felony probation violation and obstruction of an officer, tampering with evidence, giving a false name, possession of marijuana less than an ounce and possession of drug-related objects. For her part, Cox was charged with felony possession of meth, felony probation violation, possession of marijuana less than an ounce, tag light requirements and felony cruelty to children in the second degree.

Both Craig and Cox remain held at the Bartow County Jail. Warrants were obtained for Payton for providing a false name and obstruction of an officer. She also has a separate arrest warrant for obstruction by the White Police Department.

Photo 1: from left, Wanda Cox and Nicholas Craig

Photo 2: Francis Payton

Photo credits: Bartow County Jail