SYRACUSE — A 70-year-old Syracuse man is facing new charges that appear to be in connection with a NET43 drug bust earlier this month.

John Brown Christian

John Brown Christian, 70, 4484 East CR 1300N, Syracuse, was one of four people charged after a drug bust on the night of Nov. 7.

New charges came after a traffic stop hours earlier when he was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a level 4 felony, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated and endangerment on a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor.

Those charges are in addition to others when Christian and three other individuals were arrested hours later on Nov. 7. At the time, he and three roommates, John Christian, 70; Phillip Christian, 44, Austin Leasure, 22, and Leslie Patrick, 40 were arrested for possession of meth, a level 5 felony.

Prior to the NET43 arrests, earlier that afternoon, an Indiana State Police Officer was patrolling along SR 13 in Syracuse when he observed Christian slam on the brakes while driving his tan 1999 Ford Ranger. Without using his turn signal, Christian then turned into the Dollar General parking lot at 703 S. Huntington St. The officer initiated a vehicle stop, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Christian stumbled and grabbed the driver’s door to retain his balance as he exited the Ford Ranger. The officer noticed Christian appeared nervous and seemed to have poor manual dexterity, slurred speech, droopy eyes and constricted pupils – signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Christian said he had not taken any medications, consumed any alcohol or done any drugs that day. He registered 0.0% in a portable breath test, the affidavit said.

Christian then consented to a chemical test and eventually admitted he used methamphetamine the previous night.

A State Police K-9 unit was called to the scene of the traffic stop to conduct a free air sniff around Christian’s Ford Ranger. The K-9 found two clear plastic zip-lock bags containing 10.5 grams of methamphetamine.

Christian was booked on the new charges in the Kosciusko County Jail, Nov. 15 with a bond of $5,250 surety and cash. He has an initial hearing date of Dec. 5 at 8:15 a.m. in Kosciusko County Circuit Court.