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A Hollidaysburg man faces drug charges after he was found passed out in a vehicle Thursday.
According to court documents, AMED responded to the Chestnut Avenue Martin's parking lot for a male passed out in his car.
An AMED EMT told police that when he arrived, the vehicle's engine was running and Ryan Joseph Karns, 38, was in the driver's seat. AMED was able to wake Karns up by knocking on the window, police reported. AMED saw a hypodermic needle in the driver's side door and disposed of the needle before police arrived, according to the report. In addition, AMED told police that Karns had recent track marks on his right forearm.
Police said Karns stumbled getting out of the car, his gaze was distant and glassy, he was unsteady on his feet and his pupils appeared pinpoint as he spoke with officers.
Multiple yellow wax packets were found in Karns' hand, police reported, and he performed poorly on a field sobriety test.
After calling for a tow truck, police conducted an inventory search of the vehicle and turned up about 500 empty yellow wax packets, court documents state, along with a bag containing about two grams of white powder suspected to be fentanyl.
After finding those items, police stopped the search and applied for a search warrant.
When searching the vehicle under the search warrant, police reportedly found one Suboxone strip and more packaging material.
Karns was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver as well as misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and DUI, along with summary charges of driving without a license and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.02 or greater while license is suspended.
Karns was arraigned Thursday in front of Magisterial District Judge Paula M. Aigner. Unable to post $100,000 bail, he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for
May 18 in front of Magisterial District Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio.
According to court records, Karns pleaded guilty Feb. 7, 2020, to homicide by vehicle, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person stemming from a January 2018 vehicle crash in Bedford County.
Karns was sentenced to a prison term of 27 months to six years on the homicide charge and 27 months to five years on the child endangerment charge, with the sentences to run concurrently. He was sentenced to 24 months' probation for the reckless endangerment charge.