A Bloomfield man who fell asleep while working on his truck in his garage woke up to find a deputy quizzing him about a possible meth pipe in his pocket.

Michael Wade Pate, 41, Bloomfield, was arrested by Deputy Michael Stanley of the Greene County Sheriff's Department on Sunday, August 7.

Deputy Stanley was dispatched to a residence on North Franklin Street in Bloomfield after Greene County Dispatch got a call from a woman who said her husband was asleep in the garage in his truck with what she believed was a meth pipe in his pocket. The woman later said she thought he had been working on a vehicle but when she came out to check on him, she found him asleep inside the vehicle with what looked like a meth pipe in his pocket. Deputy Stanley reported she was adamant that her husband, later identified as Michael Pate, be searched but she was advised the deputy would not violate the man's 4th amendment right but that he would talk to him and ask for consent to search as well as ask if he needed medical assistance.

As soon as the deputy said the man name, Pate woke up and said he did not need an ambulance. He said he was reading the manual to the truck and fell asleep. When asked if there was a meth pipe in his pocket, Pate said there was not and emptied his pockets though he avoided emptying the pocket with the suspected meth pipe. His wife allegedly assisted in pulling the pipe out from his pocket then placed it on the table in front of the deputy.

Pate was asked if the pipe would test positive for methamphetamine and Pate confirmed it was his pipe. A field test indicated the pipe tested positive for methamphetamine.

Pate was arrested and transported to the Greene County Jail where he was booked in at 4:39 AM. He was being held without bond pending his court appearance for an initial hearing in Greene Superior Court to face charges of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.