A suspect was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance at a Stafford motel yesterday, after a deputy found him sleeping in a car in the parking lot.

Deputy B.W. Gildea was performing a check of the Red Roof Inn at 386 Warrenton Road at 6:30 a.m. yesterday morning when he observed someone sleeping in a vehicle. Staff at the hotel reported this same vehicle was parked there the night before with someone asleep inside. The clerk did not believe the subject was a paying guest.

Deputy Gildea made contact at the vehicle and identified the subject as Michael Lockard, 27, of Stafford. Lockard explained that one of his employees had obtained rooms 412 and 413 at the hotel. Deputy Gildea immediately recognized this as false since the rooms only go to the two hundred numbers at this hotel. While speaking with Lockard, Deputy Gildea observed a smoking device in the vehicle which appeared to have residue of a controlled substance.

Lockard was taken into custody for the drug possession and Deputy Gildea found a Colt .45 handgun in the center console. Lockard was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance. He was held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail on a $5,000 unsecure bond.