A young North Carolina mother has been charged with smuggling marijuana into a county jail by hiding the contraband in her 4-year-old son's pants.

Jenifer Lynn Patterson, 24, of Fairmont was charged earlier this week with providing drugs to an inmate, reports The Fayetteville Observer.

The Columbus County Sheriff's Office says the Robeson County woman used her son to sneak marijuana to her boyfriend and the boy's father, 24-year-old Cody Lambert. Lambert, who is serving two years and seven months behind bars for possessing a gun as a felon, was charged with being an inmate in possession of marijuana.

During the inmate visit, Patterson told Lambert where she hid the marijuana. She then took an older child to the bathroom. While she was gone, Lambert hugged the child and reached into his pocket to grab the marijuana, Norris said. However, "it was caught on video," Norris added,

Once Lambert was escorted out of the visiting room, he was searched by prison staff, who recovered the contraband, Norris said.

As a result, Patterson, of the 800 block of Pitman Street, was charged Sunday with providing drugs to an inmate, announced Detective Kevin Norris on Monday. "Robeson County warrants on traffic offenses also were served on Patterson, who was released from the Columbus County Detention Center after posting a $14,000 bond," Norris said.

Det. Norris says the two children who were in Patterson's care on Sunday have been taken into custody by the Department of Social Services, reports the Associated Press.

Last month, a murder trial involving a 27-year-old mother accused of killing her 5-year-old son by poisoning him with salt began in Westchester County, New York.

Lacey Spears of Scottsville, Kentucky, is charged with depraved murder and manslaughter in the death of her son, Garnett-Paul Spears. Not only is Spears accused of purposely poisoning the boy, but prosecutors say she also documented his health decline on social media, according to The Associated Press.

Related