Two charged with child endangerment

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Mobile County Sheriff's Office said two parents are in jail Tuesday, November 20, charged with two counts chemical endangerment of a child.

The Mobile County Sheriff's Office received a tip through its website, and narcotics officers went out and investigated the complaint.

"Went to the location to do what we call a ‘knock and talk’ to find out as much information as we could, and then we had a search warrant in hand,” said Mobile County Sheriff’s spokesperson Lori Myles.

The complaint led investigators to the Dickens Ferry Apartments on Old Shell Road.

Deputies ended up arresting Steven Thomas, Jr. and Akelah Poole.

“Of course when we knocked on the door, the couple had a lot of marijuana laying around on the coffee table. They had two children, one was 3-years-old and one was 9-months-old,” said Myles.

Thomas and Poole are charged with two counts each of chemical endangerment of a child, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

“The two kids were picked up by a relative, and then what happens is the case will get reviewed by DHR,” Miles said.

Thomas is no stranger to law enforcement. He was also charged with violating probation violation and had an outstanding warrant for driving while revoked.  

Poole was charged with a misdemeanor in 2011.

“This should keep him in for awhile; and if this is her first time, hopefully she will learn from this,” said Myles.

The Mobile County Sheriff's Office's website allows you to report crime anonymously, exactly what happened in this case.

“We take these crime tips very seriously, and I think that the meth initiative has been so successful is because of the community participating and helping with policing,” said Myles.

More information can be found here: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Crime Tips.