Blotter: Man charged with felony drug offenses

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 3, 2021

SALISBURY — The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office on Monday charged a man after he allegedly possessed drugs during a traffic stop.

Kennith Lamar Dunlap, 29, was pulled over at Jake Alexander Boulevard and Ketchie Street for a registration violation. The officer conducting the stop found cause to search the vehicle, allegedly turning up a .40 caliber handgun with extra magazines and ammunition, marijuana, ecstasy and paraphernalia.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said “numerous” gang-related items were found in the vehicle.

Dunlap was arrested and charged with felony possession of a schedule one controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of a schedule six controlled substance, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The vehicle was registered to a man who is in prison on convictions of murder, kidnapping and assault.

In other reports:

• A burglary was reported at James River Equipment on Friday. A caller advised the front door glass was broken and a U-Haul truck was seen leaving the parking lot.

The doors were locked when officers arrived, but the glass on one side was shattered and a large rock was found inside the doorway with glass scattered across the floor. Surveillance video showed a suspect pulling up to the store and throwing the rock through the door after one unsuccessful attempt.

The suspect went to the chainsaw section of the store, but gave up on that hardware because the saws were locked to the shelves. The suspect took two back-mounted Stihl leaf blowers and left through the same door. The burglary only took a few minutes.

The truck had an Arizona plate, but was reported stolen in Georgia. The suspect was wearing dark clothes and a face mask. The leaf blowers were worth about $1,100 and the damage to the door was $1,000.

• Another break-in was reported on Friday at a residence on Old Mocksville Road. It involved the residents finding the door leading to the carport had been forced open. The resident suspected their dog scared away the intruder before anything was stolen.

• A breaking and entering was reported on Old Beatty Ford Road in China Grove. A woman found her front door open and her TV destroyed.

About Carl Blankenship

Carl Blankenship has covered education for the Post since December 2019. Before coming to Salisbury he was a staff writer for The Avery Journal-Times in Newland and graduated from Appalachian State University in 2017, where he was editor of The Appalachian.

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