Convicted Felon Had Gun, Cocaine, Police Say

By Jack Tobias

City police arrested a convicted drug felon early Wednesday and charged him with a new set of drug counts and having a handgun with an obliterated serial number.

A convicted felon is prohibited from having a firearm.

James Rivers, 32, of 2022 Forest St., Wilson, is facing six charges in connection with the Hi-Point 9mm handgun and the drugs – cocaine, crack cocaine and the painkiller Percocet.

A criminal complaint filed by city Patrolman Eric Siegfried said:

• Police found Rivers around midnight inside a Honda automobile at Spring Garden and Sitgreaves streets. Sitgreaves is a north-south street that runs between Second and Third streets.

• An officer saw the gun “stuffed” into the car’s backseat and later saw that the gun's serial number was obliterated.

• Rivers had six individually packaged crack cocaine rocks, powder cocaine and five Percocet pills for which he did not have a prescription.

The three gun charges – former convict not to own firearm, altering or obliterating marks of identification and firearms not to be carried without a license – are felonies.

One of the drug charges – possession of a controlled substance (crack cocaine) with intent to deliver – is a felony. The others – two counts of possession of a controlled substance – are misdemeanors.

Rivers was arraigned at 3am Wednesday by on-duty District Judge Todd Strohe of Bangor and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $35,000 bail.

Online court records show that on Jan. 7, 2011, Rivers pleaded guilty in Northampton County Court to drug charges out of Easton.