Home Crime RCSO: Cocaine, fentanyl found during East Rockingham drug bust

RCSO: Cocaine, fentanyl found during East Rockingham drug bust

Top: Tyree Bell. Bottom: Shawanda Swinnie, Joseph Anderson.

ROCKINGHAM — A man and woman are facing drug charges following a drug bust at an East Rockingham home.

After receiving multiple complaints about alleged illegal activity at a home on Aleo 6th Avenue, investigators obtained a search warrant, which was served on Dec. 30, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

Joining investigators from the Community Impact Team in executing the warrant were members of the RCSO and Rockingham Police Department Special Response Teams and investigators with the RPD Vice/Narcotics Unit.

Investigators reportedly found and seized unspecified quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, digital scales, an unspecified amount of U.S. currency and packing used for narcotics.

Investigators arrested and charged 45-year-old Tyree Lewis Bell and 33-year-old Shawanda Rosanikik Swinnie with one felony count each of: possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver cocaine; possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance; and maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance.

The two were also each charged with one misdemeanor count each of simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bell and Swinnie were each booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $10,000 secured bond, but appear to have since been released. They are scheduled to appear in court Jan. 19.

During the raid, deputies also arrested 30-year-old Joseph Gage Anderson of Rockingham on outstanding warrants.

Anderson is being held without bond on a charge of failure to appear on a misdemeanor. He is also charged with possession of stolen goods in Gaston County and driving with a revoked license in Richmond County, according to Jail records.

Investigators say Anderson was given a $7,574 cash bond for child support, but that was not reflected in jail records on Jan. 5.

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Records show Anderson was scheduled to appear in court Jan. 5 and has another appearance on Jan. 11.

Online court records did not reflect any charges for Anderson on Jan. 5.

Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Bell has never served prison time in this state, but does have several prior convictions:
2009 – obstructing justice
2011 – selling a Schedule II controlled substance
2012 – sex offender residence violation*
2019 – possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a Schedule I controlled substance

*Records with the N.C. Sex Offender Registry show Bell was convicted in Nassau County, New York in 2002 for being 25 and having (or attempting to have) intercourse with someone under 17. He registered in Richmond County in 2005 and his address was last verified in November 2022.

Swinnie was convicted in Montgomery County of failing to notify the Division of Motor Vehicles of a change of address in 2013, and in Richmond County on two counts of driving while impaired in 2016, records show. Her probation in the DWIs was revoked in 2019, resulting in a nearly three-month incarceration.

Anderson has a record dating back to 2010, when he was convicted of assault, simple assault, and two counts of misdemeanor larceny.

The following year, Anderson was convicted of resisting an officer, violating a protective order and injury to real property. His probation was revoked the following year and he served less than two months behind bars.

Six months after his release, Anderson was convicted on two counts of breaking and entering vehicles. Probation on one of those counts was revoked, leading to an incarceration of less than six months.

Anderson was most recently convicted in 2017 of misdemeanor larceny and selling a Schedule II controlled substance. Probation on the drug charge was revoked the following year, resulting in a three-month incarceration.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.



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