Joint investigation leads to drug arrest, sheriff’s office says

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A man is behind bars after a joint investigation led to his arrest on drug charges.

According to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, on May 18, arrest warrants were issued for Aaron Dominique Wilks with charges of trafficking in opium or heroin, felony conspiracy, possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule 1 controlled substance, and two counts of maintaining a vehicle or dwelling to keep or store a controlled substance.

Wilks’ charges came after an investigation led by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office with help from the Salisbury Police Department, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), and Homeland Security Investigations.

On Tuesday, officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Apprehension Team (SOCAT) found and arrested Wilks at his home in Charlotte.

Officers took Wilks to Rowan County’s Magistrate’s Office, where he was placed under a $250,000 bond. Wilks later made the bond.

After Wilks’ arrest, deputies got a search warrant for his home, where they found over $16,000, a small amount of marijuana, a loaded handgun, and cell phones.

A court hearing was held on Wednesday at the Rowan County District Court, and Wilks’ bond was taken away. He was then placed on a $1 million secured bond and is currently in the Rowan County Detention Center.

Officers with the Salisbury Police Department led a connected investigation on Tuesday at a rental unit at Public Storage on Jake Alexander Boulevard West, where eight firearms were found. Police said they found four handguns, three rifles, and one shotgun; the shotgun was reported stolen from breaking and entering in May of 2022 at the Ammo Shack Hunting and Shooting in Rockingham.

According to law enforcement, a stolen handgun was also reported in Rowan County in November 2021.

Officials say the joint investigations are still active.

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