By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A 34-year-old Drumright man, who appeared to be passed out in his car in a Cushing restaurant’s parking lot, has been placed on seven years’ probation for failing to protect his 4-year-old in the back seat from exposure to drugs, as well as possessing methamphetamine, fentanyl and drug paraphernalia.
Following his guilty plea to a three-count charge on April 11, Levi Dylan Fulkerson was ordered by Payne County District Judge Jason Reese to undergo substance abuse/mental health evaluations, perform any recommended follow-up treatment and comply with conditions of an individualized service plan, court records show.
Fulkerson had been arrested at 7:30 pm on March 29, 2024, by Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers, who was at a Cushing restaurant on N. Cleveland Avenue when he “was alerted by a citizen who said a person was in the driver’s seat of a car and appeared to be passed out” in the parking lot, an affidavit said.
“I, along with Cushing Deputy Chief Nicholas Myers, approached the vehicle,” parked in front of the building west of the restaurant, the investigator wrote in his affidavit.
“I approached the driver’s side and immediately noticed a male subject slumped over at the wheel and appeared to be passed out. I knocked loudly on the window, gaining the subject’s attention.
“The subject immediately, and in a frenzy, began making furtive movements and appeared to be reaching between his legs. I opened the door and realized the subject was shoving things between his legs into the floorboard of the car.
“I could see, in plain view, a piece of tin foil and marijuana dab pen that had fallen from his lap and onto the ground just outside the car. I could see a yellow ink pen tube on the floorboard. In the center console, I could see a clear baggy and a blue rubber container.
“Due to him being passed out, I was concerned he may be using fentanyl. I asked him what drug he was using, and he told me fentanyl and methamphetamine.
“Again, due to exposure concerns, I asked him where the fentanyl was, and he told me the fentanyl was in a blue rubber container, and the methamphetamine was in the floorboard. I placed Levi under arrest from the items I could see in plain view and from his statements. He told me he would speak with me.
“He told me he was there because his girlfriend, the juvenile’s mother, works at the restaurant,” the investigator wrote in his affidavit. The child, who was asleep in a child restraint seat but not restrained, was released to his mother, the affidavit said.
“In the center console in the blue rubber container was the fentanyl and the bindle of methamphetamine. The container resembled a toy and was easily accessible (to the child), which could have ended with devastating results.
“In the center console with the blue container was the clear bag and a small plastic sack bindle containing a crystal substance that appeared to be methamphetamine. Also on the floorboard was a green and black wallet belonging to Levi and a lighter.
“The aluminum foil that fell from Levi’s lap had black streaking burn marks indicating that he was smoking the substance using the foil. He used the lighter found on the floorboard and the yellow ink pen tube. He would place the drug in the foil, use the lighter to burn the substance on the foil, and use the ink pen tube to smoke the drug,” the affidavit said.
“I field-tested the crystal substance, and it tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine. Due to exposure concerns of the suspected fentanyl, it was not field-tested.
“Concerning the lethality of fentanyl, I know through my training that fentanyl has a prescribed dosage in micro-grams. Two-tenths of a milligram of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose for an average-sized adult male with no opioid tolerance. A half gram of fentanyl could kill 500 adults,” the investigator wrote in his affidavit.
“The blue container containing the powder substance that is believed to be fentanyl, and the methamphetamine will be sent to the OSBI laboratory in Edmond for analysis. The legally parked car was released to Levi’s girlfriend,” the affidavit said.
Because the defendant was given a deferred sentence, he will not have a criminal record if he successfully completes the terms of his probation.
