A Lyndora man faces a hearing next month on charges that he was caught with heroin, methamphetamine and other contraband stemming from a July traffic stop that started with a Butler police call to CDC Drive, authorities said.

Police on Aug. 24 charged 37-year-old Nicholas C. Ace with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. He also is charged with driving with a suspended license and driving with a faulty headlight.

Ace was stopped about 9 p.m. July 24 on Whitestown Road in Lyndora, police said. Patrolman Michael Sulerud, while speaking to the suspect, noticed on the driver's floorboard what appeared to be stamp bags, according to charging documents.

It was subsequently learned, police said, that Ace and a passenger in the car were wanted on bench warrants. Both occupants were arrested and police searched the vehicle.

In the car, officers found two stamp bags containing suspected heroin, and a metal spoon. Outside the vehicle, documents said, police found 20 stamp bags of suspected heroin and five rocks of suspected methamphetamine individually wrapped in tin foil.

Police said they suspect that Ace had thrown the suspected drugs out of the vehicle before the traffic stop. But the defendant claimed he knew nothing about the narcotics, documents said, and he denied throwing the suspected drugs out of the car.

The passenger, however, when questioned, advised police that Ace “had tossed (the alleged narcotics) from the vehicle prior to stopping just 15 feet away,” Sulerud said in his affidavit.

A preliminary hearing for Ace is set Oct. 26. Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney, and he could not be reached for comment.