On Friday, Nov. 21, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit arrested Henry Herman Blankenship, 69, on drug trafficking charges.  Blankenship, a resident of 1526 S. Main St., was arrested on South Main Street following a delivery of 150 dosage units of oxycodone to an undercover investigator with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

Prior to this incident, Blankenship had sold oxycodone to the investigator on Aug. 6 and Sept. 25. Blankenship was charged with three counts of trafficking heroin/opium, three counts of possess with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver oxycodone, and two counts of sell/deliver oxycodone.  Bond was set at $750,000.

Blankenship has an extensive criminal history, and at the time of his arrest was on parole for a 1992 Iredell County second-degree murder conviction.  Blankenship had been released from the North Carolina Department of Corrections in 2012 after serving 23 years in prison.