Cops: Man Found Sleeping in Car Faces Drug Charges

[Editor's note: Arrest information is supplied by the Fairfield Police Department. It does not indicate convictions.]

An Easton man faces multiple drug charges after police reportedly found him asleep in his car -- which was running, in gear, and in the middle of the street -- on Christmas morning.

Police noticed Matthew Gromiller's maroon van in the middle of the intersection of Home and Colony streets just after 4:30 a.m. According to the report, he was reclined in the driver's set.

Gromiller, 41, reportedly admitted to having marijuana, marijuana paraphernalia, and crack cocaine in the car, police said. He told police he was on his way home to Easton.

Officers found marijuana, baggies of crack cocaine, cash, marijuana paraphernalia, and a crack pipe in his vehicle, department spokesperson Sgt. Sue Lussier said.

Police detained Gromiller and towed his car. He was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal use of prescription drugs, possession of narcotics, possession of less than a half ounce of marijuana (second offense), illegal possession of drugs near a school (he was within 1,500 feet of Pumpkin Preschool), and sale/possession of drugs within 1,500 feet of a school, according to the report.

Gromiller also faces eight counts of failure to appear for charges from various police departments, including Easton, Stratford, Bridgeport, and Fairfield, as well one count of failure to pay an infraction, according to Lussier.

He was held in lieu of a combined $116,950 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 4.