By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY —  The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office charged Roderic Alexander Rowland with drug trafficking and other offenses. Rowland, 26, is currently on probation for a felony drug offense from 2016.

He was charged with felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver ecstasy, felony trafficking opium or heroin, misdemeanor simple possession of marijuana and felony possession of a firearm by a felon, according to an arrest warrant.

The warrant said Rowland had 1.8 grams of ecstasy, 64 grams of codeine and one dosage unit of alprazolam as well as an Intratec 9mm luger. He was previously convicted of carrying a concealed weapon after he was arrested in August 2016. He received 24 months supervised probation.

He was also convicted in 2014 of misdemeanor drug possession following an October 2014 traffic stop on Interstate 85 during a joint law enforcement project. He was the passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for following too closely. In that incident, officers found a small amount of marijuana in the center console and a duffel bag in the front seat that also had two plastic bottles of liquid codeine, plastic bags that contained a small “rock-like” substance, digital scales and a plastic grinder with marijuana residue inside.

He remains in the Rowan County jail under an $80,000 secured bond. Rowland was arrested Friday and is expected for a first court appearance today.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.