One of two recent drug arrests apparently nabbed a Mississippi Action for Progress social worker.

Both of the arrests stemmed from the sale of marijuana and in one case also involved the alleged manufacture of marijuana.

On Friday, utilizing information from an informant, an employee of MAP Head Start in Picayune was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,500 feet of a park, said Lt. Donnie Saucier, Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department investigator.

With that information, the investigations division set up a surveillance operation and on Friday observed Scotty Dunn, 22, of 2112 Walker St., meet with a female at the park on Neal Road. Actions observed by the investigations team lead them to believe a drug transaction was taking place between Dunn and the female, Saucier said.

The investigators pulled their vehicle up on Dunn and the female and identified themselves as law officers. Dunn ran from the scene and was caught three blocks away behind a residence on Neal Road, Saucier said. After a brief struggle, Dunn was taken into custody.

Apparently investigators interrupted the transaction because the female did not have any illegal substances on her, Saucier said. She was not charged. Dunn was found to have six separate bags of marijuana, totaling about 170 grams. In Dunn’s vehicle was a set of digital scales. Saucier said Dunn’s alleged illegal activities are believed not to be associated with the school grounds.

Dunn was taken into custody on the sale charge and also charged with resisting arrest. Dunn listed himself as a MAP Head Start social worker, Saucier said.

In a separate case on June 6, a search warrant served by the Sheriff’s Department found evidence to charge another suspect with sale and manufacture of marijuana. Investigators served the warrant on the home of Kelvin Miller, 41, of 107 Carver Dr., where they found a quarter-pound of marijuana, digital scales, a marijuana plant and about $300 in cash, Saucier said.

Miller was not home at the time of the search but did turn himself in three days later to the Sheriff’s Department on the charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and on manufacturing marijuana.