CHINA GROVE — A hitchhiker was charged with possession of methamphetamine after a sheriff’s deputy stopped to offer him assistance.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office charged Timothy Austin Hall, 51, with felony possession of a controlled substance Schedule II and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Authorities said Hall had been flagging down motorists about 6 a.m. Thursday in the 1700 block of North Main Street. The deputy noted that Hall walked into the roadway, and he stopped to check on him. According to a report, Hall told the deputy his moped broke down and he was trying to catch a ride to work at Universal Forest Products on Webb Road.

The deputy asked Hall for identification and determined there were no outstanding warrants for his arrest. Hall asked the deputy if he could give him a ride. The deputy agreed to help him get to work but said Sheriff’s Office policy required Hall to submit to a search for weapons.

Hall said he had a pocketknife and reached inside his pocket. The deputy asked him not to do so and began a search. The deputy found a plastic bag with a white, crystal-like substance inside that was determined to be methamphetamine. The officer seized the meth, which weighed half a gram.

Hall was released from the Rowan County Detention Center under a $2,500 secured bond.