ELYRIA, Ohio — An Amherst man is facing charges after Elyria police allegedly found him in a parking lot asleep behind the wheel in a car with drugs.
According to an Elyria police report, Joshua Acosta, 27, is charged with possession of cocaine, possession of heroin, possession of a controlled substance and trafficking in drugs—all felony-level charges. Additionally, he was charged with drug paraphernalia, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
Just after 1 a.m. Friday morning, Elyria police officers were dispatched to the 800 block of West Avenue for a suspicious car in a parking lot, the report stated.
When officers approached the vehicle, they noticed a man slumped over in the driver’s seat. The report states that's when officers woke the man up, he “became very nervous when he realized he was speaking with police.”
The man, later identified as Acosta, told police that he was waiting in the parking lot for his boss, but was unable to provide police with a name, the report stated.
While speaking with officers, the report states that when Acosta reached for a carton of cigarettes, authorities saw a folded napkin inside the box. Acosta then tossed the carton on the floor and kicked it around with his feet.
The report states that officers saw a digital scale with a white powdery substance inside the vehicle’s door. Acosta was asked to get out of the vehicle.
After Acosta was taken into custody, he leaned against the car and was momentarily unresponsive. EMS was called to the scene as police said they thought he may have been overdosing, the report stated.
After EMS arrived, Acosta said he was “fine” and just wanted some water. He refused medical attention.
A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of the following items:
- .4 grams of suspected heroin
- 3.8 grams of suspected cocaine
- 6.7 grams of suspected fentanyl
- 1.1 grams of suspected crack cocaine
- various paraphernalia that had suspected drugs on it—including three metal spoons with burn marks and a white residue.
- An LG cell phone
- $115 in cash
- A pocket knife
- A digital scale
Acosta has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Elyria Municipal Court on Aug. 20.
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