Two separate arrests at local motels led to two suspects being arrested for drug offenses and illegal possession of a weapon.

Picayune Police Chief Jeremy Magri said that on Aug. 25 at about 8 a.m. officers were dispatched to a local motel after being informed of a suspicious person. When they arrived, officers were told a man in one of the rooms was causing a disturbance and threatening to jump off the balcony of the motel, Magri said.

Officers went to room 226, where they found the suspect, identified as Thomas Joseph-Daniel Bowers, 27, 1801 Hwy 11 South, Lot 64, Picayune, in the room with several others.

While speaking to Bowers, officers suspected he was under the influence of some kind of narcotic due to his erratic behavior, Magri said.

The officers conducted a safety pat down during which they found a pack of cigarettes with a plastic bag sticking out of the top. Inside the bag was a substance officers believed to be methamphetamine.

Magri said below the bag, officers also found a gum wrapper in the pack full of a brown powdery substance they believed to be heroin.

Bowers was subsequently arrested for two counts of possession of a controlled substance, Magri said.

Three days later, on Aug. 28 at about 9 a.m., detectives executed a search warrant at a local hotel, a departmental release states.

The warrant was obtained after the department received several complaints alleging narcotics were being distributed from one of the rooms.

When detectives arrived, they could smell a strong odor of what they believed to be marijuana coming from the room. Detectives approached the suspect, identified as Eric Deshawn Raymond Vaughn, 23, 616 Richard Street, Picayune, who was sleeping next to a woman and a two year old girl, the release states.

According to the release, detectives searched the room and found a clear bag with a green leafy substance they believed to be hydroponic marijuana on the nightstand next to a black scale covered in a leafy residue. Inside the night stand, detectives found a loaded .22-caliber revolver, the release states.

According to the release, Vaughn was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute while in possession of a firearm and felony child abuse due to the child being in close proximity to drugs.

The woman and the child were released on scene, but Child Protective Services were informed of the situation, the release states.