Free advice: Don’t hide a sharp object between legs

A 24-year-old Rixeyville man faces felony and misdemeanor drug charges after Culpeper police say they recovered a syringe from his crotch area Christmas night.

According to police, they also found hydromorphone, a morphine derivative, on Johney Cole Thompson during a routine traffic stop on Blue Ridge Avenue.

Officer Jeff Dodson stopped a 1998 Honda Accord driven by Thompson at about 10 p.m. Christmas night because it had an inoperable headlight.

The officer noticed that the driver appeared nervous, presenting a Nevada driver’s license despite his connection to Virginia and failing to make eye contact.

Dodson called for a drug-sniffing dog and told Thompson to stay in the car and roll up the windows, according to a news release from the town’s public information office. Instead, Thompson got out of the car and, in the process, dropped a syringe cap on the ground. He then got back in the car.

Soon after, Officer Holly Hill’s canine alerted to the possible presence of drugs in the car, and Dodson had Thompson step out.

Searching the suspect, a second syringe cap fell on the ground. The officer also recovered a burned spoon with a “white powdery substance” on Thompson’s person.

In the police car, Thompson told Dodson that he tried to hide everything in his pants because he was scared. The officer then asked about the needle’s location.

According to police, a tearful Thompson then said, “Sir, I got it on me. It’s poking me in my (privates) now. Can you please get it?”

Officers carefully recovered the syringe.

“We were able to retrieve the item from Mr. Thompson’s person to reduce any further discomfort,” Dodson wrote in his report.

Thompson was held in jail on $2,000 secured bond and is scheduled for arraignment in General District Court Jan. 7 at 8:30 a.m.