North Charleston police say woman hid marijuana in private parts

A strip search at the Charleston County jail turned up marijuana a Goose Creek woman had hidden in her private parts, police said.

The woman, 31-year-old Luwanda Evelyn Dargan of Marilyn Street, faces charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and unlawful carrying of a pistol, North Charleston police said. Police said she was a passenger in a car police stopped about 9 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 26, near U.S. Highway 78.

A Ruger handgun was found in Dargan’s purse, according to a police report.

The driver of the car, Claunce Montrell Mazyck, 36, of Casway Lane, North Charleston, is charged with driving without a license and giving false information to police.

The report said female jailers who strip searched Dargan at the Cannon Detention Center found 29.1 grams of marijuana (just over an ounce) in her vagina.

An officer wrote in the report that he was driving behind the vehicle on the interstate when he saw the driver pass something to the passenger, “and then shortly after a large cloud of smoke came out of the passenger window.”

The officer “immediately observed a strong smell of burnt marijuana,” the report said. After a second smoke cloud came from the car, followed by another odor of marijuana, the officer called for backup and pulled the car over, the report said.

Police found a pellet gun painted black on the front “to resemble an actual gun.” The officer found the .40-caliber Ruger in Dargan’s purse. When asked where she got the gun, Dargan said, “a couple of minutes ago from a crackhead in Goose Creek for $30,” according to the report.

The report said Dargan changed her story more than once when asked to explain where she got the gun.

The report said Mazyck had a Georgia ID card, but the picture on it didn’t look like him. He told police, “Just take me to jail,” when confronted about his true identity, the report said.