String of drug, firearm charges laid after report of suspicious vehicle in Wilmot: police

A 24-year-old Wilmot, N.S., man is facing a laundry list of charges after he was allegedly found passed out in the driver’s seat of a vehicle on the side of the road.

Nova Scotia RCMP say on Tuesday at 9:15 a.m., they responded to a report of a “suspicious man who was slumped over, sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle.”

Police say the vehicle was parked near a business on Highway 1 in Wilmot.

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An officer found the vehicle, which police say was still running, and the lights were on.

“The driver appeared to be conscious but didn’t respond to the police officer,” police said in a news release Thursday. “The police officer noticed several signs of impairment by drugs and arrested the driver.”

RCMP say they then called in a drug recognition expert, who evaluated the driver and determined he was impaired by drugs.

Police conducted a search of the vehicle, where they say a sawed-off shotgun, a shotgun round, a knife, some cannabis and suspected methamphetamine pills were seized.

Joshua David McKay is facing the following 10 charges:

• Operating a conveyance while impaired by a drug
• Trafficking in a controlled substance
• Careless use of a firearm
• Contravening regulations to transport a firearm
• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
• Possession of a prohibited weapon
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm
• Possession of a firearm knowing possession is unauthorized
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle
• Possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition

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McKay has been released and is expected to return to court on Jan. 6.