Police: 3 year old left alone with handgun and switched on stove | Crime

SALISBURY - A woman's slap on the back of her boyfriend's head led to her arrest on charges of child abuse, according to Salisbury Police.

On Tuesday night an officer was working off duty security at Zion Hills Apartments on Standish St.  The officer reported that he saw two people, Kendra Smith and her boyfriend Lester Carlos, Jr., come out of the apartment and begin arguing.  At one point the officer says Smith hit Carlos, Jr., in the back of the head.  When the officer approached the couple to keep the disagreement from escalating, Smith told the officer that he couldn't arrest her because her son was alone in the apartment.

The officer then went to the apartment.  The report states that when the officer went inside, he found a three year old boy alone.  He noted that the stove in the kitchen was turned on and that a handgun was resting on top of the television.  The report noted that both the stove and the gun were in easy reach of the child.

The child was put into DSS custody, then released to the mother of Lester Carlos, Jr.

Smith was charged with simple assault and misdemeanor child abuse.  She was placed in jail under $1500 bond.  Lester Carlos, Jr., was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.  The report noted that two marijuana cigarettes were found in Carlos pocket, as well as a straw containing white powder.