ROCKINGHAM — A man is facing drug charges after investigators reportedly found meth and pills in his vehicle during a traffic stop.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, deputies with the Traffic Safety Unit and investigators with the Community Impact Team stopped a vehicle with no rear lights on Rosalyn Road on Sunday, July 28.
The driver, identified as 34-year-old Nicholas Adam Whittington of Cordova, was being issued citations when a K-9 reportedly “gave a positive alert for the presence of narcotics” inside the vehicle.
Investigators searched the vehicle, reportedly finding and seizing 3.42 grams of methamphetamine and an unspecified quantity of Xanax and hydrocodone pills.
Whittington was arrested and charged with: possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine; possession of a Schedule II controlled substance; possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance; and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The defendant was booked into the Richmond County Jail on a $2,500 secured bond, according to the sheriff’s office. Jail records appear to show he has since been released. He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 15.
Online court records show Whittington has multiple pending traffic infractions in Richmond and Scotland counties.
Whittington was first convicted in 2007 on a charge of assault and battery, according to records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.
In 2013, he was convicted of misdemeanor larceny in Moore County. His probation was revoked the following year when he was convicted of felony breaking and entering in Richmond County.
Whittington was released from prison in July of 2014, but was subject to a post-release revocation the following December and convicted in March 2015 of misdemeanor larceny and second-degree trespassing in Union County.
Records show Whittington received probation when he was convicted in 2017 of possession with intent to sell a Schedule II controlled substance, and in 2019 of driving while impaired.
In 2020, Whiting was convicted of felony breaking and entering and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. His probation was revoked, landing him behind bars for nine months.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
