Rock Hill dad fled drug agents. He left kids, 4, 3, in car, police say

A Rock Hill father left his two kids unrestrained in a car when he ran from drug agents after a traffic stop, police said.

Lawrence Edward Howard Jr., 25, fled police around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, after drug officers attempted to serve arrest warrants on him, said Marvin Brown, commander of the York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit.

Inside the car were Howard’s two children; a girl, 4, and a boy 3, Brown said.

‘The children were unrestrained in the car,” Brown said. “The suspect left them there in the car when he ran from the officers trying to arrest him.”

Officers captured Howard after a foot chase, police said.

Howard was charged with two counts of unlawful neglect of a child. Police said Howard had been smoking marijuana in the vehicle, according to Brown and a police incident report.

The children were turned over to a family member, police said. Agents with the S.C. Department of Social Services were notified, an incident report stated.

Officers had arrest warrants for distribution of crack cocaine and drug distribution near a school.

An investigation showed Howard had been selling the drugs from an Amelia Avenue home, according to Brown and a police report. Police had been investigating Howard since mid-September, the police report shows.

Howard was taken to the Rock Hill jail after he was captured. Officers at the jail found almost three grams of marijuana hidden inside Howard’s pants, according to police records.

Howard also was charged with possession of contraband inside a jail, and possession of marijuana, police reports show.

Howard is being held at the York County jail.

This story was originally published October 5, 2018 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Rock Hill dad fled drug agents. He left kids, 4, 3, in car, police say."