By Jim Clark

Somerville police officers were dispatched to the McGrath Hwy. Star Market parking lot last Friday morning on reports of a man passed out behind the wheel in a SUV.

Upon arrival, a Star Market employee directed the officers to vehicle parked in the lot in front of the store.

As the officers approached the vehicle, the driver, later identified as Jorge Alves Jr., of Cambridge, appeared to have just woken up and had half eaten McDonalds food in his hand and on his lap.

When police asked Alves Jr., if he was all right and what was going on he reportedly just nodded his head and said he was fine.

As officers were speaking to Alves Jr., they noticed multiple light brown baggies in plain view in the center console along with aluminum foil, rolled up dollar bills, and what appeared to be a large sum of cash sticking out of a small backpack in the front seat.

After the officers had Alves Jr. exit the vehicle to get evaluated by EMT personnel, he was asked if there was anything in the car they should know about and he reportedly mumbled something about “brown” being in the car and that it belonged to his friends.

While Alves Jr., was being evaluated by the EMTs, the officers took a closer look at the small bags in the front console that were in plain view. There were five individual knotted glassine baggies containing a light brown powdery substance packaged into a larger glassine baggie.

There was also one separate small glassine baggie partially opened containing the same powdered substance. The officers reported that they believed that the substance was heroin/fentanyl, and packaged in a manner consistent with distribution of narcotics.

Alves Jr. was medically cleared by EMTs and placed under arrest on a charge of possession of a class A drug to distribute.