PROVIDENCE — A man was shot in the Mount Hope neighborhood early yesterday morning, the police said. And then he wound up facing a criminal charge when an employee of Rhode Island Hospital reported that the man had concealed illegal drugs in a body cavity. Kevelin Davis, 29, of 19 Pleasant Court, was found shot five times, four times in the back and once in the right arm, and lying on the floor of an apartment at 61 Pleasant St. at 12:50 a.m., according to the police. It was the second shooting in 10 days at or in the vicinity of 61 Pleasant St.

He told officers that he had been on the front steps of 61 Pleasant, talking to the residents there, when he saw a gold-colored car occupied by two men wearing dark-colored hoodies pull up. He and the residents turned to go inside — it was not clear why — and then gunshots were fired from the car, according to Davis.

He was shot and the car drove away, down Pleasant to North Main Street, he told the police. Detectives found seven .45-caliber shell casings, meaning that at least seven shots were fired.

Davis was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was admitted in serious condition initially. As he was being helped, a hospital employee found a clear plastic bag concealed between his buttocks that, according to the police, contained at least six pieces of crack cocaine.

Davis immediately was put under police guard, and later in the morning he was hand-delivered a District Court summons charging him with possession of cocaine.

Sgt. Paul Brousseau, commander of the police prosecutions unit, said Davis normally would have been brought to court to answer a criminal complaint, but due to his physical condition, he was given the order to appear Aug. 22. Davis’ condition is not life-threatening, according to the police.

The previous shooting occurred July 22, when Justin T. Potter, 26, of 226 Juniper St., East Providence, was grazed in the head by a bullet.

A sport-utility vehicle in which Potter was the driver or a passenger crashed into a parked car outside 61 Pleasant and then, a couple of minutes later, into the side of an office building at 747 North Main St., according to the police.

The Potter shooting remains under investigation.

gsmith@projo.com