SALISBURY — The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has arrested one of the men on its 15 Most Wanted List.
Manuel Delgado Pineda has been listed on the sheriff’s 15 Most Wanted since its creation in December 2010. Pineda’s arrest was the result of tips received through Crime Stoppers from a person who saw the sheriff’s most wanted list on the Salisbury Post’s website.
Deputy McHone arrested Pineda Thursday at a residence at 103 Town Court, Salisbury.
Pineda was arrested after an 11-year search and was placed in jail under a $25,000 secured bond on charges of three counts of trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Pineda had returned to Rowan County and has been living under the name Javier Guitirrez.
On Sept. 19, 2000, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit conducted a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning a group of cocaine traffickers in Rowan and Cabarrus counties.
This group included Enrique Pineda, Manuel Pineda and Zayur Pineda. This investigation was lead by then-detective Sgt. Kevin Auten and came to a conclusion when investigators arranged for these three suspects to deliver a large quantity of cocaine to an undercover FBI agent in a parking lot at Bostian Cross Roads at Highway 152 and Old Concord Road.
Rowan County Sheriff’s Office detectives and FBI agents planned to arrest the suspect once the undercover agent became aware that the cocaine was present. At about 9 p.m., the suspects arrived and as the undercover agent confirmed the presence of the cocaine, investigators approached the parking lot and all three suspects fled on foot into the surrounding neighborhood.
During the chase detective Moose and Auten captured Enrique Pineda after a brief struggle in the woods behind Bostian Heights Store. Manuel and Zayur Pineda were not captured.
Detectives seized more than 16 ounces of cocaine and a .38 caliber handgun and began a search for the missing suspects.
Enrique Pineda was placed in jail under a $250,000 secured bond on three counts of trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and was found guilty and served an eight-year prison sentence and was deported back to Mexico.
The Sheriff’s Office still holds warrants on Zayur Pineda and he remains listed on the Sheriff’s 15 Most Wanted list.