A Vian man was arrested after officers were called to a convenience store for a report of a possible drunk man—but officers discovered more.

According to the Sallisaw Police affidavit, at 6:24 p.m., May 4, Sallisaw Police Officers Justin Smithson and Wendel Hughes were called to the EZ Mart Gas Station west of Sallisaw to check on a man who was possibly intoxicated. When officers arrived they found the man, later identified as Arland Dewayne Rowell, 51, of Vian.

In the report, officers said Rowell was unsteady on his feet, swaying on both feet, his movements were jerky and his hands would not rest at his side.

“He seemed to be under the influence of a controlled substance, and I could smell alcohol on his breath,” Smithson said.

Officers asked him if he had consumed any alcohol, and Rowell told them he drank one beer and took one 7.5 milligram Lortab.

Smithson began patting Rowell down and he said he felt more pills in his back pocket.

“What is in your back pocket,” Smithson asked.

“I don’t know,” Rowell responded. “I may still have a needle in my pocket.”

Hughes found a syringe without a safety cap, and the officers transported Rowell to the Sallisaw City Jail to be booked in. When jailer Blaine Griffey was getting Rowell into a jail uniform, Griffey told Rowell to squat and cough.

According to the report when Rowell did a small plastic bag fell to the ground.

“Rowell seemed very upset when Griffey pointed out he dropped something,” Smithson said in his report.

Smithson said Rowell looked at him and asked, “So what am I charged with now?”

Rowell was charged May 12 in Sequoyah County District Court, Sallisaw with possession of a controlled substance, and a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Rowell is currently being held with no bond in the Sequoyah County Jail.

A status conference, which is a meeting between the district attorney’s representation and a defendant’s lawyer, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. June 3.