Johnston DSS Declines To Answer Questions Following Death Of 4-Year-Old

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — Three days after a 4-year-old boy died while staying with a grandparent, Johnston County officials are declining to answer key questions about the child’s placement and the role of the Johnston County Department of Social Services (DSS) following his removal from a home where deputies allegedly discovered illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia and a stolen handgun.

The child died Saturday, July 4, at a residence on Juniper Church Road near Four Oaks. He had been removed from a Thompson Road residence near Four Oaks on Wednesday, July 1, along with two other children during a Johnston County Sheriff’s Office narcotics investigation.

Johnston County Report submitted a series of questions to Johnston County DSS seeking to determine whether the agency retained legal custody of the children after their removal, whether DSS placed the children with the grandparent, whether the child died while in a DSS-arranged placement, whether any welfare checks were conducted after the placement, whether the two surviving children remain in DSS custody, and whether the agency has opened an internal review or notified state officials following the child’s death.

Johnston County Public Information Officer Adam Carroll, responding on behalf of Johnston County Social Services, said the county could not answer the questions.

“Johnston County Public Information and Johnston County Social Services have received your request for information and due to the confidential nature of juvenile cases, the County is unable to release such information or answer your listed questions,” Carroll said in an email to JoCoReport.

Carroll added, “In the coming weeks/months, Johnston County Social Services will work to assess what, if any, child fatality information may be released and when.”

That means basic questions about what happened after the children were removed from the Thompson Road home remain unanswered days after the child’s death.

Among the unanswered questions is whether Johnston County DSS has notified the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) about the child’s death. Under NCDHHS policy, county child welfare agencies are required to notify the state when they receive a report involving a child fatality. However, Johnston County officials declined to confirm whether that notification has been made in this case.

The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said no foul play is suspected at this time, but the cause and manner of death remain under investigation.

The children’s mother, Amber Nicole Gibson, 39, was not present at the Juniper Church Road residence when the child died, according to investigators.

Gibson was arrested July 1 after deputies executed a search warrant at the Thompson Road home. Investigators reported finding suspected LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a stolen handgun. Deputies also described the home as having unsanitary living conditions, prompting Johnston County DSS to respond and assist with the placement of the children.

Gibson was charged with possession of a stolen firearm, felony maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for a controlled substance, two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine, simple possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Court records show Gibson posted a $17,500 secured bond on July 2 and was released from the Johnston County Detention Center.

The Sheriff’s Office death investigation remains active and ongoing with the assistance of the NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

JoCoReport will continue seeking answers from Johnston County DSS officials.