North Carolina

Group home for adults with disabilities was cover for drug operation, NC cops say

A group home on Nashville Road in Rocky Mount was being used as cover for a drug dealing operation, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office says.
A group home on Nashville Road in Rocky Mount was being used as cover for a drug dealing operation, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office says. Street View image from Nov. 2024. © 2025 Google

A man hired to care for patients at a group home was secretly using the site to deal a wide range of narcotics, according to investigators in North Carolina.

The operation was shut down Tuesday, Nov. 25, after the Nash County Sheriff’s Office followed up on complaints of suspicious activities at a home on Nashville Road in Rocky Mount, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“During the execution of the search warrant, deputies witnessed (a suspect) attempting to flee to the bathroom and flush illegal narcotics,” the sheriff’s office reports.

“A search of the residence revealed approximately 472 grams of cocaine, 180 grams of marijuana, 8 pints of codeine syrup, digital scales, firearm magazines and ammunition, U.S. currency consistent with narcotic sales, and paraphernalia used to package narcotics.”

Three adult patients were also found, leading investigators to learn the site was a group home for “patients that suffer from cognitive disabilities,” officials said. Medical personnel evaluated the patients and determined the three were in good health.

Nash County Adult Protective Services reports the 40-year-old suspect “was employed as a caregiver at the home,” the sheriff’s office said. Investigators did not reveal how long the suspect had been working at the home.

He was arrested at the home and charged with:

  • Trafficking cocaine
  • Possession with intent to distribute marijuana
  • Possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance
  • Maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances
  • Destruction of criminal evidence
  • Patient abuse and neglect
  • Resisting a public officer
  • Possession of drug paraphernalia

“It is disturbing to know that the home of the people living here were subject to this criminal activity,” Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said in a news release. “We are extremely grateful to our citizens that spoke up and alerted us to the activity going on here so that we could put a stop to it.”

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This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 5:58 AM with the headline "Group home for adults with disabilities was cover for drug operation, NC cops say."

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Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
Mark Price is a state reporter for The Charlotte Observer and McClatchy News outlets in North Carolina. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology. 
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