A Florida man has been arrested on drug charges, following a complaint of a suspicious person at a local motel.

David Bircher, 59, of a Port Orange Florida address, was booked into Silverdale on charges of Possession and Distribution of Fentanyl, Possession and Distribution of Xanax, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Firearm during a Felony, and other charges.

According to an affidavit of complaint, police were called by a clerk at the Stay Inn Express at 6510 Rinngold Rd. just after 2:30 a.m. on Monday. The affidavit states that the clerk was told to notify police if David Bircher attempted to rent a room because he was suspected of supplying drugs to the area. The affidavit does not state who gave that information to the clerk.

The clerk said she did not rent Bircher a room and watched him drive away in a pickup truck.

The clerk gave police a description of the vehicle the suspect was driving; a white GMC Sierra pickup truck. An officer located the truck in the 1300 block of Spring Creek Road and initiated a traffic stop.

When police questioned Bircher about what he was doing, he made a “range of statements that did not make sense,” the affidavit states.

Bircher told police he was a convicted felon on probation out of Georgia. He admitted to a gun being in the center console of the truck. According to the affidavit, a search of Bircher’s person produced drug paraphernalia, more than 10 grams of powdered Fentanyl, and more than $3,800 in cash. 

A search of the man’s vehicle produced a Walther .380 handgun, that was reported stolen, three types of ammunition, three scales often used to weigh drugs, multiple zip lock bags, 419 Xanax pills, and a pound of a substance often used to dilute fentanyl.

According to the affidavit, East Ridge police seized the cash and the truck, as they are suspected to be proceeds from narcotics trafficking. 

Bircher made bond and is scheduled to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on April 25.