BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — A man faces charges after police found him unresponsive in a car outside the Martin County Senior Citizens Center with a substantial quantity of drugs in the car.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Chris Kidd of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call shortly before noon Thursday. The caller reported the man appeared passed out in a parked car at the senior center in Inez.

Upon arrival, Kidd found John Pack, 38, of Kermit, West Virginia, slumped behind the wheel in the vehicle. Kidd noted that Pack was difficult to wake.

When Pack finally stirred, officers noticed a pipe commonly used for smoking crack cocaine in his lap and burnt tin foil on the steering column. A syringe protruded from a hole in a small metal box at his feet, authorities said.

Pack, who Deputy Kidd said acted “nervously” and had glassy, bloodshot eyes, allegedly did not hedge.

“He was highly intoxicated,” Kidd stated. “He said there was probably some dope in the car.”

A subsequent search of the box uncovered a vial of white powder, multiple syringes, plastic bags containing a white powdery substance, and a bag of rock-shaped material that Pack reportedly identified as cocaine.

Officers also recovered a second box in the back seat containing a powdery substance that Pack reportedly said was fentanyl.

Other items in the car included a green leafy substance resembling marijuana, a digital scale, several empty plastic bags, and $235 in cash.

In total, authorities say they seized approximately 33 grams of suspected fentanyl, 23 grams of suspected cocaine and 8 grams of suspected marijuana.

Pack faces charges of aggravated trafficking of more than 28 grams of fentanyl, trafficking over 4 grams of cocaine, trafficking less than 8 ounces of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville.