Drug, Weapon Charges For Driver Stopped For Not Wearing Seatbelt: Police

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A 31-year-old Stafford man is facing weapon and drug charges after being stopped on Sunday by a Fredericksburg police officer because he was not wearing a seatbelt, according to reports.

After conducting a traffic stop in the 2300 block of Emancipation Highway, the officer arrested the driver, identified as Nicholis Schawalder of Stafford, because he had an active warrant out of Westmoreland County for larceny, according to the incident report.

While searching Schawalder, the officer found a firearm concealed in his waistband and recovered drugs and other paraphernalia in his property, the report says.

Schawalder was served the Westmoreland warrant and chrged with possession of a firearm while possessing narcotics, possession of a schedule I/II substance, and carrying a concealed, according to police. He was then held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

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Schawalder was arraigned in Fredericksburg General District Court on Monday and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m . on April 21.

The most serious charge Schawalder is facing is possession of a schedule I/II substance, which is a Class 5 felony. If convicted of this charge, he faces a potential sentence of one to 10 years in prison or up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500, under the Code of Virginia.