Police: Erratic Driver Caught With Five Different Drugs in His System

Lab results revealed a cocktail of drugs in a Minneapolis man’s system after Hopkins police stopped him for driving erratically, according to a court summons signed Friday.

On Sept. 4, police received a report of a suspected impaired driver who’d been seen stumbling and slurring his words, Police Sgt. Michael Glassberg wrote in the criminal complaint.

Officers initially couldn’t find the vehicle but later encountered it near the Mainstreet Bar and Grill. An officer saw the vehicle swerve within its lane and then make a sudden move and park near 19^th Avenue North and Mainstreet.

Police identified the driver as 30-year-old William Jacob Roger Cornelius and noted that his “eyes were bloodshot, his pupils were dilated, his eyelids were droopy, and his words were slurred,” according to the court documents. He was also shaking throughout his whole body.

But even though he failed sobriety tests, a preliminary breath test didn’t register the presence of any alcohol.

The officer arrested Cornelius on suspicion of using drugs, and a drug recognition expert concurred that he appeared to have been using drugs, according to the court documents. A blood test later showed the presence of five different drugs, including codeine and morphine.

Officers also found a small box with a mixture of pills and pill bottle that Cornelius admitted contained anxiety pills he bought on the street, Glassberg wrote. In all, there were eight different types of pills.

Cornelius has been charged with two counts of fifth-degree drug possession—each a felony that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a $3,000 to $10,000 fine. He’s also been charged with two counts of fourth-degree driving while impaired—each a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $300 to $1,000 fine.