Police have laid multiple charges against a driver who was found asleep at the wheel in a parking lot in northwest Calgary in the early morning hours of New Year’s Eve.
Shortly before 2 a.m. on Dec. 31, officers on patrol came across a running 2011 Mazda 3 in a parking lot on Brentwood Road NW.
Police say the driver appeared to be unconscious behind the wheel. After waking the man and talking to him, officers suspected he was impaired and conducted a roadside sobriety test, which he failed.
The man was arrested for drug‑impaired driving.
A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered an assortment of drugs with an estimated street value of around $6,600. According to police, the items seized included:
- 167.9 grams of psilocybin (estimated value $1,800)
- 202 pharmaceutical pills (estimated value $2,000)
- 21 MDMA pills (estimated value $1,200)
- 37 LSD tabs (estimated value $370)
- 14.7 grams of cocaine (estimated value $1,280)
- One gram of methamphetamine (estimated value $20)
- $305 in cash
- Scales, packaging materials and two knives
The driver refused to provide a blood sample, but further testing concluded he was impaired by a drug, according to investigators.
Joshua Edmund Hayward‑Genge, 33, faces 10 charges, including possession of cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, and four additional counts of possession of other drugs for the purpose of trafficking. He was also charged with possession of proceeds of crime under $5,000, refusal to comply with a demand, and two counts of failing to comply with a release order.
The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Calgary police at 403‑266‑1234, or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers.