Salisbury man faces drug charges after traffic checkpoint

Published 12:33 pm Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Rocky Brady

SALISBURY — A Salisbury man faces drug-related charges following a traffic checkpoint at N.C. 152 and Happy Lake Road.

Rocky Donnall Brady, 32, of the 300 block of Mildred Avenue, was charged Tuesday with felony possession of a controlled substance schedule II, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance schedule VI after he was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by Rowan County Sheriff’s Office deputies, according to a department report.

The sheriff’s office conducted a traffic checkpoint during which each driver was asked about their license, registration and proof of insurance. The driver of a vehicle that came through the checkpoint said she did not have a valid driver’s license. The woman was asked about a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car and asked to pull over. Brady and the driver said they had been smoking marijuana and there was nothing else in the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Both the driver and Brady gave the officers consent to search the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. The driver had a cellphone and a pocketknife.

Brady had a glass smoking pipe in his front pocket. According to the report, he admitted to being “addicted to methamphetamine” but said there was nothing else in the vehicle. Deputies found a crystal-like substance in the front pocket of a backpack that belonged to Brady. The substance allegedly was found in a cigarette box along with a small amount of marijuana wrapped in a bag.

Brady said the driver had no knowledge of what was in the backpack. He was arrested at the scene and remains in the Rowan County jail under a $1,000 secured bond.