Man found asleep in vehicle faces drug and alcohol charges

KAPUSKASING – A man found sleeping in a parked vehicle is facing charges of impaired driving and drug trafficking.

On May 25 at around 8 p.m., James Bay OPP were called to reports of an unconscious person in a moving vehicle in a commercial parking lot on Riverside Drive in Kapuskasing.

At the scene, police discovered a person asleep in the driver's seat of a vehicle. Officers woke the suspect and determined that the driver had consumed an intoxicant. He was arrested and taken to the Kapuskasing detachment for testing.

Police investigation revealed a large knife and drugs suspected to be cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, codeine, hydromorphone, pramipexole, psilocybin, cannabis and oil of hashish.

A 48-year-old Val Rita man is accused of:

• Impaired operation – alcohol and drugs
• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
• Possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking – cocaine
• Possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking – methamphetamine
• Possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking – opioid
• Possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking – other drugs (two counts: codeine, hydromorphone)
• Possession of a Schedule II substance for the purpose of trafficking
• Possession of a Schedule III substance for the purpose of trafficking
• 2 counts of having care or control of a vehicle with cannabis readily available

The accused was released and is scheduled to appear in Kapuskasing court on June 17.

None of the charges have been tested in court and the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty.