A man connected to a seizure of more than $1.4 million in Rowan County in January 2013 was arrested last week by authorities in Lancaster County, S.C., for possession of more than 4 pounds of heroin.
On Feb. 5, authorities found Joseph Shawn Chasteen, 25, of Charlotte, and another man, 18-year-old Cody Howard, leaving from a home on Harrisburg Road in Indian Land, S.C., following a tip from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Knowing that Chasteen did not have a valid driver’s license, police stopped the car. Inside the car, deputies found a bag filled with 4 pounds of powdered brown heroin, a small amount of marijuana, a sawed-off shotgun, balloons filled with heroin, digital scales and a vacuum sealer.
On Jan. 2, 2013, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office assisted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and other local agencies in the investigation of Chasteen and his wife, Heather Nichole Chasteen, both residents of 130 Leisure Lane, Salisbury.
Based on probable cause, a state search warrant was obtained by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office for the residence.
During a search of the residence, investigators discovered more than $1.4 million, which has since been forfeited by the federal government and dispersed to law enforcement agencies, including a portion to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.
Chasteen remains in the Lancaster County Detention Center without bond.