A 22-year-old Waukesha man faces felony drug charges after being pulled over, given a warning and then dropping a syringe in front of an officer, according to police.

Lucas M. Karpinski was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Friday with one count of possession of cocaine. If convicted, he faces up to 1 1/2 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 8:09 p.m. March 18, Karpinski was pulled over by Waukesha police officers near Spring Street and Chicago Avenue for driving with an expired license plate. He was given a written warning and told he was free to go, however, the officer came back and asked to search the car.

Karpinski let the officer look in the car and after he was done, Karpinski began walking back to the car, then dropped something from his hand.

Another officer at the scene saw the item dropped and confronted Karpinski, who told police it was a syringe he used to inject himself with cocaine.

Karpinski will make his initial appearance in court Nov. 5.