Sioux Falls Family Busted for Drugs after Son Takes Marijuana to School

On Friday Sioux Falls Police Officer Sam Clemens says a 9-year old boy took some marijuana he found at home and wanted to show it to his friends at Hawthorne Elementary School.

"The boy's friends told the staff who found the marijuana and called the School Resource Officer. When they went to return the boy to his home, as the officers were talking to the mom, they smelled marijuana coming from the house. That led to getting a search warrant for the house," explained Clemens. "Inside, they found more marijuana. There were also meth as well as an unknown drug. It didn't test for meth or cocaine. We will be analyzing that to determine what that is."

After checking out the residence, Clemens says the mom and stepdad were arrested.

"Mom faces a variety of drug related drugs. The step dad was located at work. Some meth was found on his person. He was also arrested on various drug charges. The 9-year old was turned over to a relative. He is facing charges as well."

Clemens says parents need to set an example that drugs are dangerous and illegal.

"Using drugs is probably not the wisest thing. But, especially using them in front of children is a big idea. The kids are very impressionable. They are going to pick up on that. They will do what their parents do. In this case, the nine year old thought it was a good idea to bring a bag of marijuana to school."

Unfortunately, this incident isn't isolated.

"You know it happens from time to time. Thankfully, it's not something we see on a regular basis. At the same time, it is something we've seen over the past several years."

The mother and step dad are identified as 31-year-old Nicole Roach and 29-year-old Stephen Messelhiser - both of Sioux Falls.