ROCKINGHAM — Police have charged a Rockingham man with manufacturing methamphetamine, after a concerned homeowner reported finding chemicals and other discarded materials he said belonged to the man.
The owner of a home on Leak Street called Rockingham police early Tuesday, reporting that he had found in his basement items he worried could be related to meth, the Police Department reported. Narcotics detectives later confirmed the presence of chemicals used to make meth, as well as discarded materials also used in production of the drug, police said.
The homeowner identified Kevin Shawn Hurley, 31, as being responsible for the meth-making materials. Officers found Hurley without incident Tuesday.
Hurley is charged with four felony counts of possession of a meth precursor and one felony count of manufacturing methamphetamine. He was being held at the Richmond County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 secured bond.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety show Hurley has a long history of incarceration, mostly in Rowan County, dating to 2008, when he served eight months on one misdemeanor conviction each of driving while intoxicated level one, DWI lever four, wanton injury to real property and possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance.
Beginning in August 2013, Hurley served nine months in prison on one felony conviction each of breaking and entering, larceny of more than $1,000 and obtaining property by false pretenses; two misdemeanor convictions each of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and larceny; and one misdemeanor conviction each of possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance, and hit and run, state records show.
In June 2016, Hurley began his longest stint in prison — 15 months following convictions for 11 felonies that included two counts each of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, breaking and entering, and obtaining property by false pretenses; and one count each of larceny of more than $1,000, larceny after breaking and entering, and possessing stolen goods. This round of convictions also included a conviction on a misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia, state records show.
Hurley’s record includes three convictions for misdemeanor counts of illegally hunting deer and several other misdemeanors for which he received probation.