Authorities are investigating two deaths that may be drug-related.

Forest Wesley Waldrop, 43, of 114 Union Boulevard, was charged Friday by the Union County Sheriff’s Office with obtaining drugs by fraud or deceit. He is being held in the Union County Jail on $5,000 surety bond.

A warrant signed by Lt. John Sherfield said Waldrop went to Palmetto Drugs on Jan. 14 and obtained a prescription for his wife, Delitha “Michelle” Waldrop, 42. Mrs. Waldrop died on Jan. 17 in Spartanburg Regional Medical Center after being hospitalized for several days.

The prescription Waldrop had filled was for 90 Carisoprodol pills. Carisoprodol (Soma) is a muscle relaxer.

Union County Coroner William Holcombe said Mrs. Waldrop’s death is under investigation and he is awaiting the results of an autopsy conducted on her body on Jan. 18 at Newberry County Memorial Hospital.

The death of Waldrop’s sister, Barbara Jean Poole, 42, also is under investigation, Holcombe said. An autopsy was conducted on her body on Jan. 11 in Newberry. The results also are pending.

According to a Union County Sheriff’s Office report, Waldrop found Mrs. Poole dead on Jan. 10 at her home on 103 Fairmont St. He told Cpl. Nathan Gilstrap that his sister had a history of seizures, high blood pressure and prescription medication abuse. He said he checked on her about 4:30 a.m. when he got up to use the restroom and she was still breathing. He went back to bed, got up around 7:30 a.m., drank a cup of coffee and went to the gas station. When he returned around 8:20 a.m. he checked on Mrs. Poole again and she was not breathing.

Sheriff David Taylor said the warrant was signed against Waldrop because his wife was unconscious when the prescription was filled and she could not have asked for it. He said authorities are looking at the deaths of Mrs. Poole and Mrs. Waldrop together.

“We are waiting on the cause of death to come back in both of these cases to see if there are criminal charges to stem from this,” he said. “Anything else we are looking at is pending on toxicology reports. We think there will be circumstances that will be contributing factors in both deaths.”

Additional drug arrests

— Thomas Jay Elston, 17, of 206 Osborne St., was charged Friday by the sheriff’s office with possession of a Schedule 4 narcotic. He is being held in the Union County Jail on a $15,000 surety bond.

According to a report, narcotics officers saw a black Honda weave out of the roadway and almost strike a sidewalk on Monarch Highway. They stopped the car — occupied by Elston and two other people — and could smell marijuana. Everyone was removed from the car and it was searched.

According to an arrest warrant signed by Lt. John Sherfield, two pills believed to be Alprazolam were found in Elston’s possession. The others in the car were not arrested.

— Michael Preston McLain, 26, of 302 Toluca St., was charged Friday by the sheriff’s office with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and resisting arrest. He is being held in the jail on $50,000 surety bond.

A report said narcotics officers saw the driver of a Toyota fail to give a turn signal at the intersection of Maple Street and Richard Street. The driver, Jessica Smith, gave officers consent to search the vehicle. According to an arrest warrant signed by Lt. Jimmy Johnson, a plastic bag containing 20 separate smaller bags of what is believed to be marijuana was found under the passenger seat where McLain had been seated.

When officers attempted to arrest McLain, he resisted and struck an officer with his arm.

A warning summons was issued to Ms. Smith for the traffic violation.

— Michael Bryant Fleming. 21, of 188 Short St., was charged Saturday by the sheriff’s office with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance within one-half mile of a playground.

A report said Cpl. Jared Gilstrap was on West Main Street when he saw Fleming, who was operating a blue moped, make a U-turn and then fail to stop at a stop sign. Gilstrap stopped Fleming at the intersection of Gage Avenue and Highland Drive and asked for identification. Gilstrap asked Fleming if he had anything illegal on his person and Fleming said “no.” Gilstrap found a pill bottle in Fleming’s pants pocket that contained a quantity of pills which Fleming identified as Valium. He said the pills were not his, he did not have a prescription for them and he was trying to “get rid of them,” to someone on the street. Fleming’s arrest occurred within one-half mile of the playground on Gage Avenue. Gilstrap also seized $174 in cash and his cell phone.

Theft

Saturday, a Union man told Gilstrap that someone entered his hunting property in the 1300 block of Spartanburg Highway and took his trail camera. The victim said he went to check the camera and found someone had torn it off the tree, where he had it set up. The Wildlife Timber Eye camera is worth $130.

Men arrested

Two people were arrested early Sunday by deputies investigating a report of reckless driving.

Jacob Leon Martin, 34, of 111 Russell St., Laurens, was charged with unlawful carrying of a handgun.

Frederick Lamar Valentine, 24, of 142 Simpson St., Laurens, was charged with unlawful carrying of a handgun and having a broken alcohol seal on a container in the vehicle in which he was traveling.

A report said officers were advised around midnight to be on the lookout for four vehicles together driving recklessly on the Cross Keys Highway and turning onto Industrial Park Road. Cpl. Scott Ruby stopped the vehicles in the 300 block of the road, with additional county, city and Highway Patrol officers responding to assist. A handgun was seen on the rear floor of the vehicle being driven by Martin. He told officers the .357 revolver was his and was fully loaded. He was arrested; the other two people in his car were able to leave in a different vehicle.

In the second vehicle, officers saw a gun on the rear floor. Valentine and Ricky Dionte Sanders, 25, of 122 Almond Drive, Gray Court, were the rear seat passengers. Valentine said the 9 mm semi-automatic was his. Valentine also had an open bottle of liquor. Sanders had a bottle of beer. Valentine was arrested; Sanders was issued a ticket and released.

Inmate arrested

Antonio J. Stanley, 37, of 647 Joe Walker Road, was charged Saturday by the sheriff’s office with having contraband at the Union County Detention Center.

A report said Officer Nathan Burdine found a cell phone charger in Stanley’s possession, which an inmate cannot possess.