At the end of September, special units from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office made five arrests involving drugs on warrants, several of which developed from of investigations from other cases.

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, members of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Apprehension Team (SOCAT) made the following arrests:

Dontay Demetric Sturdivant, 37, was arrested and charged with with four counts of trafficking in opium/heroin, two counts of sale/delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, and one count of maintaining a dwelling to keep/store drugs. He is being held in the Rowan County Detention Center on a $4.25 million bond. Sturdivant was arrested at his residence located in the 300 block Crown Point Drive, Salisbury.

During Sturdivant’s arrest, deputies found probable cause and were able to get a search warrant for the residence and a crime scene search was conducted. Undisclosed amounts of suspected narcotics were seized along with $1,000 in cash, a currency counter, a Smith & Wesson .380 semi-automatic handgun, a S&W .380 magazine and .380 ammunition, and drug paraphernalia. Additional charges related to the search of the residence are pending for Sturdivant.

Larry Michael Rollins Jr., 54, was arrested and charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance and possession of a schedule IV controlled substance. He is being held in the Rowan County Detention Center on a $25,000 bond.

Michael Ellis White, 39, was arrested and charged with possession with intent to sell/deliver schedule II controlled substance. He was held in the Rowan County Detention Center on a $15,000 bond.

Cedric Dewayne Francis, 48, was spotted by members of SOCAT during a vehicle stop on I-85 near Spencer. Francis was subsequently arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm, and possession of a schedule II controlled substance. He was held at the Rowan County Detention Center without bond due to the N.C. Pre-Trial Integrity Act.

Luz Hernandez Fergueson, 47, already in custody at the Rowan County Detention Center and was processed by the Rowan County Magistrates Office on the following charges: four counts of trafficking in methamphetamine, six counts of possession with intent to sell/deliver a schedule II controlled substance and one count of maintaining a dwelling to keep/store drugs. Fergueson was being held on a $228,000 secured bond from previous charges and was processed accordingly with the N.C. Pre-Trial Integrity Act.

These arrests were in relation to several different cases that had been investigated by the Special Investigations Unit over a period of time.

“I am proud of our deputies who work tirelessly to take illegal drugs off of our streets and out of our communities.” Sheriff Travis Allen said. “We strive to make Rowan County a safer place for everyone to live and work. We will continue to hold these folks accountable.”