MADISONVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee man is facing drug charges after police investigated complaints that he was excessively honking his vehicle’s horn and banging his head on the steering wheel, authorities said.
David Matthew Stakely, 38, of Sweetwater, was arrested March 18 and charged with possession of heroin, possession of prescription medicine, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence of drugs, the Madisonville Police Department said in a news release.
According to police, officers were called to the Madisonville Baptist Church shortly after 11 a.m. local time, The Advocate & Democrat of Madisonville reported. Residents had complained that Stakely had been blowing the horn of his vehicle and was striking his head on the steering wheel, according to the newspaper.
Officers found Stakely slumped over and leaning toward the passenger seat of a white Lincoln in the church parking lot, the news release stated.
The officers were able to rouse Stakely and found a metal tin in his pockets that contained foil and pills, The Advocate & Democrat reported. According to police, Stakely said he had just taken heroin and ingested Gabapentin, a pill that controls certain types of seizures in people who have epilepsy.
When officers searched the vehicle, they found a baggie with a gray substance inside and a cut straw with residue, the newspaper reported.
“By calling in today, “you,” the community -- and we know who you are -- saved this man’s life and the lives of many more traveling the roadways in Madisonville,” the police department said in its news release.
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