A man is facing charges after promising to buy drugs for an undercover state narcotics agent and then walking off with the cash, officials said.

Michael W. King, 26, never returned with the 3.5 grams of cocaine he was supposed to buy with the $175 in marked bills he was given by an undercover officer Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

King received the money outside Easton Hospital in the vicinity of Lehigh and South 21st streets in Wilson borough, Northampton Co., officials said.

King, who lives about a mile away from the hospital at 2476 Birch St., was arraigned on charges of theft, illegal use of a cell phone, and attempting to deliver a controlled substance and committed to Northampton County Prison on $25,000 bail, according to court documents.

A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 7.