Police: Man found passed out behind wheel at Richland gas station faces felony drug charge

A Butler County man is charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and DUI after Northern Regional Police say he was found passed out behind the wheel of a car parked at a gas station in Richland.

Matthew Austin Thomas, 33, of Church Street Extension in Adams Township was charged by summons and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing May 24 before District Judge Tom Swan.

According to his arrest papers, an employee of a nearby business called police after seeing a man later identified as Thomas passed out behind the wheel of a car that was parked but running in the lot of the Marathon gas station along Route 8 at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2022.

The store employee told police he repeatedly pounded on the car door to try to rouse the man then called 911 because he feared he was having a medical emergency.

EMTs evaluated Thomas and told police that he appeared to be impaired but there was no indication that he had been drinking, the complaint said.

Thomas gave police his state medical marijuana card when they asked him to identify himself, but he denied drinking or using drugs that night, the complaint said.

Police said there was a strong odor of burned marijuana in the car and there were marijuana crumbs scattered on his lap and the car floor, the complaint said.

Thomas told police he was “stone cold sober” when they again asked if he had been using drugs or drinking, according to investigators.

Police said Thomas agreed to undergo a series of field sobriety tests because he was showing signs of being impaired.

Those tests found that while he was “most likely” intoxicated from drugs, the results were not definitive, the complaint said.

Thomas was taken to the O’Hara police station where an officer qualified to do drug recognition screenings was on duty. Results from those tests showed Thomas was impaired by narcotics, analgesics and cannabis, the complaint said.

He was taken into custody and agreed to allow blood to be drawn to test for the presence and level of drugs or alcohol in his system.

After getting a warrant, police searched the car and found several bottles filled with various prescription drugs including the cough suppressant tessalon; generic versions of Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit disorder; the anti-seizure medication elonazepam and the sedative diazepam.

The results from lab tests done on Thomas’ blood showed that in addition to several of the drugs that were found in his car, he was under the influence of the pain killer oxycodone; aminoclonazepam, an anti-seizure drug; the sedative oxazepam; nordazepam, also a sedative; amphetamine and methamphetamine, which are stimulants; and Delta 9, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Thomas has had run-ins with the police before.

In March, he pleaded guilty to a felony count of driving under the influence filed in April 2020 by Middlesex Township police and was sentenced to 18-to-36 months in jail and four years of probation, along with a $2,500 fine. He also was ordered to participate in a litter pick-up program, according to court records.

Thomas is awaiting trial in Butler County on a felony count of retail theft filed in October by state police, according to the court docket.

He also is awaiting trial on four misdemeanor drug charges filed by Adams Township police in November.

In March 2021, Thomas pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of retail theft filed by Cranberry police and was sentenced to two months in jail and 10 months of probation, according to court records.