A Guatemalan man was arrested earlier this month after allegedly being found him in possession of cocaine.

The investigation began on the afternoon of November 1 when the Elk City Police Department received a call about a “suspicious person” at a local convenience store located in the 100 block of Meadow Ridge Drive.

Upon arrival, the responding ECPD officer reportedly observed the suspect leaving the store in a silver car without a tag. The vehicle turned north on Highway 6 and then began to merge onto Interstate 40 at the 38-mile marker on-ramp.

The officer caught up with the silver car and activated his emergency lights. The vehicle reportedly stopped in the middle of the on-ramp. The officer instructed the driver, later identified as 22-year-old Jose Rigoberto Coc-Curruchich of Guatemala, to pull the vehicle over onto the shoulder of the on-ramp to avoid the risk of being hit by another vehicle.

During the stop, the officer located an identification card from Guatemala belonging to the defendant, as well as a clear plastic bag containing what appeared to be cocaine. Coc-Curruchich allegedly admitted to possessing the substance, which field-tested positive for cocaine and weighed 0.7 grams.

The substance was sent to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for further chemical testing and to confirm the official weight.