ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — Two people were charged after a child brought a prescription pill to school and law enforcement then found multiple kinds of drugs in his home.

On March 7, deputies with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department were contacted by Jennings Randolph Elementary School due to a third-grader bringing a buprenorphine hydrochloride pill to the school, according to a criminal complaint. Buprenorphine hydrochloride is a prescription medication used to opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms and is also used to treat pain, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Jerry Gates

Staff at the school told deputies that the student “took it out of [a] drawer [at home] because he was trying to ‘save them’,” and that he had observed Jerry Gates, 41, of Elkins, “snort the pills” as well the snort a “grey, yellow or tan colored powder,” according to a complaint. The child also said there was “additional drug use in the home,” deputies said.

According to an additional complaint filed by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department on March 31, the child victim had advised that he had seen Samantha Ramsey, 33, of Elkins, “do it as well,” in reference to seeing individuals “snort” pills.

Samantha Ramsey

On that same day, deputies working with other law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant on Gates’ residence. Upon entering, they located “a jar of a green leafy substance suspected to be marijuana” and paraphernalia in plain view on a table in the living room, according to original complaint.

During the search, law enforcement seized marijuana “in excess of 2 pounds,” two bags and two containers of methamphetamine, a bag of psilocybin mushrooms, a bag “containing a brown unknown substance,” a pill container with hydromorphone hydrochloride, another container with tramadol, a suboxone strip, a container “with unknown powder substance,” an “oil filter with oil filter silencer adapter and bullet hole,” three cell phones, sets of digital scales, 12 firearms and $1,187 in cash, deputies said.

Drugs and guns seized during the investigation. Credit: Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

Gates has been charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. He is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail on $35,000 bond.

Additionally, Ramsey has been charged with misdemeanor child neglect creating risk of injury.