A family feud between cousins led to the arrest of a Ruston woman and her boyfriend on drug and weapon charges last week.
Temperance T. Washington, 20, was arrested on April 29 for aggravated assault with a firearm after she called the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Department to report a problem with some cousins who had been living with her, but she had kicked them out and left their property on her front porch.
During the investigation, Christopher Lance Maryland, 22, also of Ruston, was arrested on numerous drug and firearm charges.
Temperance Washington told deputies she had recently ejected her cousins from her house and wanted them to come get their property off her porch. She said when they came earlier, they argued and threatened her, and she wanted deputies to stand by while they gathered their belongings.
One of the cousins, who was next door, told deputies they had gone to Washington’s house several time during the night trying to get their belongings, but every time Washington started an argument. She said the last time they went over—just before Washington called the sheriffs office—Washington pointed a handgun at her and threatened to shoot her. The woman described the gun as a black handgun, possibly a Glock. She said she wanted to pursue charges against Temperance Washington for aggravated assault.
Washington was asked about the firearm and she said she did not have a gun and that they were lying. Deputies asked Washington for consent to search her house for a firearm. She told deputies if they found a gun, it would be in her closet and it was probably her boyfriend’s gun not hers. A black Glock pistol was found in Washington’s closet and she was arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm.
A deputy looked through the driver’s side window of a silver Nissan Altima in the yard of Washington’s residence and saw a plastic baggie of marijuana in plain view. Washington said the Nissan belonged to her boyfriend Christopher Maryland who was inside.
When questioned, Maryland said he had not known the marijuana was in the car. He was asked to unlock the vehicle so deputies could retrieve it. A plastic bag on the backseat was found to contain an additional 225 grams of marijuana.
Also found in the vehicle were a single tablet of alprazolam (Xanax), digital scales commonly used for weighing narcotics, a box of .45 caliber ammunition, and a Glock magazine for 9mm ammunition.
A criminal history check showed Maryland was a convicted felon. He was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of alprazolam, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm in the presence of controlled substances, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and illegal use of a controlled substance in the presence of persons under 17.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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