ROCKINGHAM — A Montgomery County man was allegedly caught with meth after catching a nap.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy was patrolling U.S. 220 on Aug. 8 when he noticed a vehicle at a convenience store that was closed.
When the deputy got out to check it out, he reportedly found 48-year-old Roderic Eldon House, of Mount Gilead, asleep inside.
House reportedly gave consent to search the vehicle and the deputy found a set of scales. While frisking House, the deputy also reportedly found in the defendant’s pocket a small baggie with an unspecified amount of methamphetamine and five Clonazepam pills.
House was arrested and charged with one count each of possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine, maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance — both felonies — and simple possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance.
He was taken before a magistrate and released on a $15,000 unsecured bond. Records show House is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 25.
Online court records show House has several traffic infractions in Montgomery County, including driving while impaired and traveling the wrong way on a dual-lane highway. His court date there is slated for Sept. 29.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Corrections show House’s first name also spelled as “Roderick” and list “Koochie” as an alias.
House was first convicted in 1991 of breaking and entering vehicles and misdemeanor larceny. The following year, he was convicted on four counts of simple assault.
Four months after the latter conviction, the state revoked House’s probation on the B&E charge, sending him to prison for a year.
In 1995, House was convicted on a felony count of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance. He was initially given probation, which was revoked in 1997, resulting in a five-month incarceration.
House was charged with driving while impaired in May 2008 and then was caught driving with a revoked license less than three weeks later in Randolph County. He was convicted on both charges in 2009 and served less than two months.
House was later convicted of trafficking in opium or heroin and misdemeanor larceny in 2015 and driving while impaired in 2017 (Randolph Co.), receiving probation in all three cases.
Also in 2017, House was convicted of aggravated DWI and served nearly five months.
He was convicted on the same charge in 2018, and the state sent him back for the previous conviction, as well as revoked his probation on the trafficking conviction.
House was incarcerated from March 7, 2018 until Nov. 14, 2021 and his parole ended March 14, 2022.
(Editor’s note: All previous convictions were in Montgomery County unless otherwise noted.)
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
