CHICORA — A Franklin Township man arrested twice in 28 days for allegedly driving on drugs on the same road after being pulled over for the same violation by the same trooper is headed for trial.

Braxton L. Hilderbrand, 20, was ordered held for court on all charges at separate preliminary hearings Tuesday before District Judge Lewis Stoughton in Chicora.

In all, he is charged with two counts each of driving under the influence of a controlled substance and speeding and several other traffic violations.

Trooper Philip Treadway testified that he was using a hand-held radar device on Mercer Road south of Blossom Drive in Center Township on the nights of Nov. 17 and Dec. 15 when he clocked the defendant's car going 55 mph in a 35 mph zone.

He eventually caught up to the suspect's vehicle at the Center Township Elementary School in each case.

The first time, Treadway said, he smelled marijuana coming from the car. Hilderbrand's eyes were dilated and he “seemed confused,” the trooper said.

Dilated pupils are one of the tell-tale signs of marijuana usage, according to Treadway, a certified drug recognition expert.

On cross-examination, attorney Patrick Nightingale of Pittsburgh questioned how the trooper could tell his client's eyes were dilated, noting the stop was made around 8:40 p.m.

While acknowledging it was dark out, the trooper said he deployed his “take-down lights.” Those lights are bright LED beams that are fastened to police cruisers to allow officers to see occupants they're pulling over while making it difficult for those individuals to look back.

Additionally, Treadway said, he was using spotlights and a flashlight.

“There was an abundance of light shining directly on (the defendant's face),” he said.

Later, during his investigation, Treadway said he noticed two other clues of possible marijuana use from the suspect, including a yellow-green coating on the tongue and redness of the eyelid lining.

“He informed me that he had smoked (marijuana) within the last few hours,” the officer told prosecutor David Beichner, a county assistant district attorney, on direct examination.

After allegedly showing impairment during field sobriety tests, Hilderbrand was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence.

He consented to a blood draw at Butler Memorial Hospital, Treadway said. His blood tested positive for marijuana and the antidepressant sertraline.

The second time — the next month — that Hilderbrand was stopped, the trooper made note of the defendant's agitation.

“He was not very pleased to be interacting with me again,” Treadway said when questioned by Nightingale.

The officer also again allegedly noticed the defendant's dilated pupils, and smelled a “faint odor” of marijuana coming from the car. But the defendant denied having smoked marijuana since the previous stop.

“Of note to that particular statement, he said, 'I haven't smoked in two weeks since you stopped me last,'” Treadway testified, “when, in fact, it had been four weeks.”

Following a DRE examination, Hilderbrand admitted that he had used marijuana, the officer said, “either late the previous evening or early in the morning.”

A subsequent blood test, like the first one, Treadway said, showed the suspect had marijuana and sertraline in his system.