ELKINS, WV (LOOTPRESS ) – A man was arrested last week after being discovered unconscious in a vehicle which was still in the roadway.
Reports from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office indicate that, on 7/7/22 at approximately 8:10pm, Sheriff Elbon, Cpl. Kyle, and Deputy Pingley responded to a call which had been placed to report a person passed out in a vehicle in the Dry Ridge Road area.
The caller stated they had made attempts to wake the person to no avail.
Officers arrived on the scene to discover a man – later identified as Dessie Coulter – passed out in the driver seat of a vehicle with the windows down.
A machete was observed in the passenger seat, and was removed prior to attempts to wake Coulter.
Once awake, Coulter was reported to show signs of confusion and impairment. He stated that he had been camping, and complied when asked to step out of the vehicle.
A pocket knife was located, along with a silver container containing what Coulter confirmed to be methamphetamine.
On the driver side of the vehicle, officers located a bag of freshly cut ginseng. This indicated that the ginseng was harvested recently, in a dig out of compliance with West Virginia Code 19-1A-3a which states that it is unlawful for a person to dig, collect or gather wild ginseng between December 1 and August 31.
Coulter was placed under arrest and transported to Tygart Valley Regional Jail, and the vehicle was towed. Coulter was charged with possession of a controlled substance and illegal possession of wild ginseng.