State police have charged a Vandergrift man with having cocaine and a stolen gun in his car while driving drunk.

James Artis Alexander, 30, of the 600 block of Hancock Avenue, was charged with felony counts of carrying a firearm without a permit, possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and receiving stolen property, along with eight other charges.

Alexander is being detained in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of a $20,000 cash bond. He faces a preliminary hearing July 6 before District Judge James Andring, according to court records.

A state trooper wrote in Alexander’s arrest papers that he stopped a 2014 Volkswagen registered to Alexander along Farragut Avenue in Parks Township shortly before 2 p.m. May 6 because the insurance coverage was expired and he was driving with a license suspended for DUI.

The trooper said Alexander had piece of paper with THC wax on it in the driver-side door, according to a criminal complaint. Alexander could not produce a state medical marijuana card when asked, the trooper said.

Alexander would not allow the trooper to search the vehicle but told him he had some “personal use cocaine.” The trooper allowed him to retrieve a bag with about 3 grams of the drug from the center console that he handed over, the complaint said.

The trooper said Alexander showed signs of impairment during field sobriety tests and was taken into custody. He refused to allow blood to be drawn to determine whether there were alcohol or drugs in his system, the complaint said.

While being transported to the state police station near Kittanning, Alexander told a trooper “there is probably a gun in the center console,” according to the complaint.

Investigators got a search warrant for the vehicle, which was towed to the state police station, and found a loaded Ruger .380-caliber in the center console along with 4 grams of suspected cocaine and a digital scale, the complaint said.

Police said Alexander does not have a permit to carry a firearmand the gun found in his vehicle was reported stolen in Brackenridge.

Police also found two open containers of an alcoholic beverage when the vehicle was searched, according to the complaint.

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