A Lake man has been charged with five counts of Child Neglect Creating Substantial Risk of Serious Injury after State Troopers found five juveniles and several adults smoking pot at his residence.

Joe Douglas Payne, 45, was also charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance and Possession with Intent to Cultivate Schedule I Controlled Substance.

According to the criminal complaint, on April 20th, W.Va. State Troopers T.D. Boggs and B.A. Lowe to the Payne’s residence in reference to a tip concerning drug use with juveniles present. Upon arrival, officers could “immediately smell a strong odor of marijuana…” The officers reported that while approaching the residence, a young male, Jason Workman, 18, walked out the front door. Officers identified themselves and told Workman to walk toward them. Instead, Workman turned and rushed back inside the residence.

Boggs and Lowe followed Workman inside the residence which “was filled with smoke reeking of marijuana and observed Mr. Workman, the defendant and six others standing around a kitchen table on top of which was a paper plate covered with marijuana residue.”

Workman signed a handwritten statement to the officers that Workman and five others, all under the age of 18, had traveled to Payne’s residence and entered the residence. “The defendant traveled to a back bedroom and retrieved a large marijuana joint that the defendant lit and sat on the kitchen table. Workman and each juvenile, with the exception of one, admitted to smoking the joint.”

During a search of the residence, officers found a plate with a wet paper towel on top of what was believed to be germinating marijuana seeds; two pots of soil beneath the sink; a ceramic plate on top of which was a white powdery residue, credit card and pink straw; a set of scientific scales and a pill bottle full of what officers believed were marijuana seeds.

The juveniles were released to their respective parents or guardians.

A Mike Ferrell employee has been charged with Fraudulent Scheming times 15 and computer Fraud times 15.

According to a criminal complaint filed on May 1, states that on April 20 and 21, 2012, James Caldwell, 39, of Lyburn, “took a gas card without permission from his employer, Mike Ferrell Toyota. While in possession of the gas card, he charged a total of $699.51 during a span of 15 different transactions at five different Speedway locations.”

Caldwell was arraigned before Magistrate Leonard Codispoti who set bail at $10,000 surety bond. He was also held for Parole Violation.