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GAS CITY, Ind. — Three Pennsylvania men face a slew of charges after state police say they were carrying multiple illegal substances and a handgun through Gas City, Indiana, in two different cars.

The arrests occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday after an Indiana State Police trooper saw two passenger cars, a Chevrolet and a Ford, driving erratically on State Road 22 near Gas City, ISP said. The trooper said the vehicles appeared to be driving together.

Gas City police were called to assist with stopping the vehicles and a Sergeant tried to pull over the Ford car soon after. However, the Ford kept driving, leading the Sgt. on a short chase that ended near Gas City.

The chase ended when the driver, later identified as 27-year-old Radames Vargas Jr. of Mountville, Pennsylvania, stopped the Ford on E. B Street near 2nd Street in Gas City. Law enforcement conducted a felony stop on the vehicle and took Vargas Jr., as well as 29-year-old Christopher Brown-Conroy of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, into custody.

Evidence seized, provided by Indiana State Police

Officers then searched the Ford, allegedly finding marijuana and around $6,200 in cash. They also found a bag of hydrocodone pills that had apparently been thrown from the car during the chase, ISP said.

Meanwhile, officers conducted a subsequent stop on the Chevrolet, which also stopped on E. B Street in Gas City. A drug dog then conducted a sniff of the vehicle and indicated narcotics were inside.

The driver of the Chevrolet, later identified by ISP as 25-year-old Jamarr Parker of Manheim, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody.

A later search of the car driven by Parker revealed counterfeit fentanyl pills, marijuana, 345 grams of suspected fentanyl, counterfeit Xanax bars, a 9mm handgun, three bottles of promethazine with codeine and around $730 in cash, ISP said.

  • Jamarr Parker
  • Radames Vargas Jr.
  • Christopher Brown-Conroy

Parker, who ISP said was also found to be wanted on a Pennsylvania arrest warrant for intimidation and a firearm charge, faces the following additional charges:

  • Possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon,
  • Obstruction of justice,
  • Possession of a controlled substance,
  • Possession of marijuana,
  • Possession of a narcotic, and
  • Dealing a level two narcotic

Vargas Jr., the driver of the Ford, faces charges of:

  • Resisting law enforcement with a vehicle,
  • Possession of marijuana,
  • Possession of a narcotic, and
  • Dealing a level two narcotic

Brown-Conroy, the passenger in the Ford, is charged with:

  • Obstruction of justice,
  • Possession of a narcotic,
  • Possession of marijuana, and
  • Dealing a level two narcotic

All three men were incarcerated in the Grant County Jail, ISP said.