A Lyons woman arrested last Friday was in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing yesterday, charged with methamphetamine-related felonies as well as felony neglect of a dependent.

Connie Sue Thomas, 40, Lyons, was arrested by Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Heather Wood very early Friday morning, November 16, after Deputy Wood responded to Thomas’s residence on Thursday evening, November 15.

Deputy Wood began an investigation around 8:15 p.m. that night after a family member of Thomas contacted the sheriff’s department and reported they’d confronted Thomas about drug use and said they’d found evidence of drug use in Thomas’s home.

The caller said when they found a container with used syringes in the bathroom, Thomas grabbed them and threw them in a trash can. They alleged a juvenile had then started looking around the house for other items in places where they said their mother hid her drugs.

The caller further alleged that during this incident, Thomas had grabbed a small package and swallowed it saying she wasn’t going to be arrested for possession and that the package contained methamphetamine.

Deputy Wood reported that when she arrived and talked to Thomas, Thomas admitted she had swallowed the meth before law enforcement arrived, and that she knew about the syringes in the bathroom.

When asked if she would give consent to search her home, Thomas declined.

Wood applied for a search warrant which was approved then executed late that night.

Wood reported officers found eight used syringes inside a trash can, an unopened bag of unused syringes, a smoking device with white residue, and ziplock baggies with white residue among other items of paraphernalia. The items retrieved field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

There were two juveniles in the home during this incident. Wood reported they went with a family friend to stay and the friend and family member were told the Department of Child Services (DCS) would be contacted about the incident.

Thomas was taken to jail and has been charged with:

• Unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony,

• Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony,

• Neglect of a dependent – defendant places dependent in a situation that endangers the dependent’s safety, a Level 6 felony, and

• Possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.