Driver Asleep At Wheel Jan. 30 Faces Fentanyl Charge

WARWICK, RI — A West Warwick man arrested for fentanyl possession Jan. 30 after Warwick officers found him sleeping in his gray 2003 Nissan Maxima at Marathon Gas Station, 2400 West Shore Road, will appear for a Third District court screening May 19.

Officers Connor Craig and Kyle Fitzsimmons, alerted to the man’s presence by a report of a driver slumped over his wheel at the intersection of Main Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard, found John G. Laprade, 39, of 6 Kent St., West Warwick, in his car sleeping at the gas station at about 5:19 p.m that day. They knocked, waking him, and asked him to step out.

Laprade consented to a search of his car, and Fitzsimmons located a small white powdery substance in a cellophane bag in the mans backpack in the passenger side of the vehicle. The officers arrested him on suspicion of possession of illegal drugs, and, after sobriety tests did not show signs of impairment, placed him in their cruiser.

Fitzsimmons transported Laprade to WPD Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, for booking.  Craig transported the bag with the white powdery substance to WPD Headquarters. The substance inside was weighed at 2.5 grams, and later tested positive for fentanyl, according to the report.

The officers charged him with Possession of Schedule I-V Controlled Substance, 10 Grams or Less, then released him with a summons to appear at 3rd District Court on March 4, where he was arraigned on the charge and scheduled for the May 19 court screening.