LAWRENCEVILLE - An unexplained excursion has landed a Lawrenceville man in jail, accused of leaving his 3-year-old daughter home alone and locked in a bedroom.

Sometime Saturday morning, Gwinnett police arrested 28-year-old Paul Wilson and charged him with first-degree child cruelty, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

According to reports, Wilson's roommate, David Beamer, came home at about 10 p.m. Friday night and, after hearing noises upstairs, sent his dog to investigate about 45 minutes later.

Beamer discovered the child locked in the bedroom watching TV, according to reports.

Wilson and his daughter have separate bedrooms upstairs in the Paden Drive residence, police said.

After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Wilson on his cell phone, reports said, Beamer called police.

Responding officers said they noticed two things upon an upstairs inspection: that the girl's bedroom door had been locked from the outside and that there appeared to be marijuana and paraphernalia in plain view on Wilson's nightstand across the hall.

Around midnight, as police were outside speaking with Beamer and Department of Family and Children Services representatives, police said Wilson called and said he was on his way home.

Upon his arrival, according to police, Wilson said that he had just gone to his girlfriend's house because she had called "hysterical" because her washer was leaking. Wilson said he told his girlfriend, who is not the child's mother, to go over to the house and watch his daughter.

When the girlfriend - identified only as Amy - showed up on scene, reports said, she told police that she had been also been unable to reach Wilson on his cell phone and that her washer had been fixed days earlier.

"Nobody has been there (tonight) except for me and my three cats," she reportedly told police.

Officers searched Wilson's pickup truck and bedroom, reportedly finding marijuana, baggies, scales, smoking devices and a loaded .45-caliber Glock handgun.

Police seized the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, believing Wilson used it to distribute narcotics.

The child was released to her mother, whom police told there would be an investigation into living arrangements.

Wilson is being held without bond at the Gwinnett County Jail. Records show he is on probation for felony convictions in 2008.

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