Nickolas J. Spradling, 24, was first found passed out in a vehicle that was still running.

MASSILLON

A man found passed out behind the wheel of a sport utility vehicle after ingesting heroin didn’t wait until he got to the jail before taking more, according to police.

Officers say Nickolas J. Spradling, 24, of 2352 Wildflower Lane NE, used more heroin on the trip to the jail.

Spradling was initially arrested at 2:55 p.m. Thursday in the 2400 block of Dogwood Drive NE, where Patrolman Steven Slack was called in response to a suspicious vehicle, Stark County Jail records said. Spradling was passed out behind the wheel of a grey Hyundai Santa Fe while the vehicle was still running.

After several attempts by Slack to wake him, Spradling roused and admitted he had ingested heroin, the jail records said.

Slack arrested Spradling, placing him in the back of the cruiser.

But as he drove Spradling to the Massillon city jail, he noticed Spradling was moving around in the back seat.

Spradling told Slack that he “had an itch,” the jail records said, so the officer pulled off the road to check on him.

“When I opened the door, Spradling had his face on a powdery substance and a dollar bill with powder on it,” the officer reported.

Slack pushed his prisoners away from the powder and called for assistance.

Spradling was placed in another cruiser and taken to jail.

By the time they reached the jail, “Spradling started to lose consciousness due to the heroin use and the fire department was called out to the city jail,” the jail records said.

Spradling was taken to Affinity Medical Center and then on to the Stark County Jail.

He remained in the jail early Friday, held in lieu of $26,000 bond on charges of felony evidence tampering, heroin possession and physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence.

Reach Lori at 330-580-8309 or lori.monsewicz@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @lmonsewiczREP