By Eric Blaisdell
STAFF WRITER

BARRE — An arrest warrant has been issued for a Barre man who failed to appear at his court date on felony drug charges.

Frank R. Schneider, 31, was to be arraigned Thursday on cocaine possession and heroin possession and two misdemeanors: operating a vehicle with a suspended license and possession of fireworks. Police say an incident June 16 was the second time since January that he has been found passed out in a running vehicle with drugs.

According to the police affidavit, the department received a complaint of a man unconscious in his truck with the engine running at Big Lots in Berlin.

An officer arrived and saw Schneider inside the vehicle appearing to slip in and out of consciousness. The officer reported then seeing Schneider’s truck start to roll toward some parked cars. The officer ran over to the truck and woke up Schneider, who stopped the truck.

When Schneider opened the truck door, the officer said, rocks of crack cocaine were on the driver’s seat and in the driver’s side door handle.

Schneider has a suspended license, so police impounded his vehicle and drove him home. After obtaining a search warrant, police said, they found more than seven grams of crack cocaine and seven bags containing more than 223 milligrams of heroin. They also found a homemade PVC fireworks launcher and a “Flaming Ball” firework.

For the complete story, see Tuesday's Times Argus.