Drugs, Rifles Seized at Home of Gambrills Day Nursery

(Updated: Tuesday, 1:05 p.m.)— Police Monday night seized a small amount of marijuana and several guns from a home that also serves as the Gambrills Day Nursery, and a department spokesman said children were present when drug deals took place. 

Anne Arundel County police said they searched the home in the 500 block of St. Mary's Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. and seized a small amount of marijuana, a smoking pipe and six guns. They also seized a 2007 Ford Explorer. 

One woman, Rosemary Tuck, has been charged with two counts of possession of marijuana and two counts of possession with intent to distribute, plus other related charges. 

Police also charged Douglas Melvin Woods, 49, with drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.   

Rosemary Tuck is the daughter of the couple who owns the day care center; the center operators have not been charged.

Police said a search warrant was issued after an investigation in which undercover detectives bought marijuana from Rosemary Tuck near the facility.

"The daycare was technically separate, but within the house that the suspects occupied," said Lt. T. J. Smith, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Police Department. "The 'deals' occurred at points when children were present."

Larry Tuck, who owns the center with his wife, Charlotte, said he was not aware of any drug activity near the facility. He said he was stunned when police executed a search warrant at the property.

Tuck said he was upset that officers seized guns from a work shed behind the nursery and said the rifles were never stored in the actual day care facility.

He said all of the guns seized Monday belonged to him legally and they included several older rifles. He showed a Patch reporter where they were kept, which was inside a room connected to a work shed several hundred feed behind the nursery.

"Those were my guns,' he said. "It's all nonsense." 

The Gambrills Day Nursery has been in operation since 1964. It provides care for children between 2 and 6. Larry and Charlotte Tuck have not been charged, though police said the Maryland Department of Licensing/State Licensing Division has been notified. 

Larry Tuck said he did not know of any drug activity occurring near the center.

Larry Tuck said Rosemary Tuck never lived at the house that occupied the day care center. Her children, he said, stayed at the center while she was residing in another nearby home. She had recently been evicted from a home in Brooklyn Park and was looking for a place to live, Tuck said.

The Gambrills Day Nursery remained open Tuesday, and Tuck said he and his wife were in the process of telling parents about the police activity. 

Some parents said they were concerned that they were not informed of the police activity before dropping their children off Tuesday morning. Many found out about the case through media reports. 

But others defended the day care center operators, who have run the center for nearly 50 years. 

"This daycare is a very good one," Cheryl Malloy Squires said on Facebook. "I know when you see this it is scary. It had nothing to do with daycare. The person who did this is not on staff at [the] center."