Warrant Issued for Eagan Man Charged with Heroin Possession

An arrest warrant has been issued for an Eagan man charged with possessing heroin after police say they found him unconscious in his car at a Bloomington gas station. John Albert Powers, 26, is charged with fifth-degree drug possession, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is also charged with refusing to submit to a chemical test, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine. After his arrest, Powers was released on his promise to make all future court appearances. An arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear at a hearing in Hennepin County District Court last week. According to the criminal complaint, signed by a Bloomington police officer, employees of a Holiday station in the 7500 block of Brooklyn Boulevard called police on April 23 “on a report of a slumper.” Police found Powers’ car pulled up to one of the gas pumps, with Powers slumped over in the driver’s seat, his head angled toward the front passenger seat, according to the complaint. Officers tried to awaken Powers, who opened his eyes but kept falling back asleep, the complaint says. Powers was holding a lighter in his hand, and his pupils were constricted, according to Miller’s account. Police saw needle marks on his arms and noted that he was experiencing periodic muscle tremors; they also found a syringe and a spoon in the open glove compartment and a bag of suspected heroin on the front passenger seat, the complaint says. After Powers’ arrest, he refused to submit to a chemical test. Officers asked him why he refused; he replied, “Because I refused last time,” according to the complaint. Powers admitted to police that he had just purchased one gram of heroin and that he had used approximately a quarter-gram of it before they arrived, the complaint charges. The drugs found in his car tested positive for heroin.