By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
The Criminal Investigations Division of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office searched a Crawford Drive home and arrested two men, one of which has used a number of aliases and been charged previously by the agency.
On Wednesday, investigators executed a search warrant at 315 Crawford Drive, Salisbury, in western Rowan County.
The search was the result of information that illegal controlled substances and stolen property were being stored at the home.
During the search, detectives discovered a small amount of marijuana, various items of drug paraphernalia and a stolen motorcycle from Kannapolis.
Upon the initial search, Ronald Howard Bentley was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and felony possession of a stolen vehicle. Bentley was held in the Rowan County jail under a $2,500 bond. He has since been released.
While at the Crawford Drive home, detectives also took a man into custody who looked familiar to Lt. Chad Moose as a suspect in a drug investigation from the 1990s, a statement said.
This subject was discovered to have Mexican identification with the name Jose Gomes. Gomes was found in possession of a bag of marijuana and determined to be giving a false name.
Gomes was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Gomes remains in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $25,000 bond.
Gomes was fingerprinted and his prints were submitted through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) where he was identified as Adan Zelaya-Ortiz, from El Salvador.
In 1996, the Rowan Sheriff’s Office charged Zelaya-Ortiz with carrying a concealed handgun.
Investigators also checked records and identified Gomes as using the names of Guadalupe Gonzales and David Teran in a 1998 case.
In the 1998 case, Gonzales was arrested by Moose on an allegation of trafficking in cocaine and marijuana.
The 1998 case was completed when then-Sgt. Kevin Auten, now sheriff, and others with the Special Investigations Unit found 5 ounces of cocaine and more than 40 pounds of marijuana.
Gonzales was later deported by ICE, which is now participating in the new case against Gomes.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.