Father and son charged with heroin trafficking

A man with a history of drug trafficking and his father were arrested by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office on charges of selling heroin to undercover officers on multiple occasions.

Zachary Rumple of China Grove, 25, has at least 10 felony drug convictions in North Carolina, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. He was out on a $1 million bond when he was arrested Monday. He will face five drug charges in Rowan County, and more charges are expected from Iredell County.

Charges in Rowan include sale and delivery of heroin, possession with intent to sell and deliver, trafficking heroin by possession and conspiracy to traffic heroin. He also faces one count of sale of heroin and one count of possession with intent to sell and deliver heroin in Cabarrus County.

His father, Christopher “Todd” Rumple of Kannapolis, 47, faces two charges in Rowan for trafficking heroin and conspiracy to traffic.

Investigators pulled over the two men as they were leaving Zachary Rumple’s recent residence at 210 Liz Cortland Road, according to the Rowan Sheriff’s report. Both men are accused of selling heroin to undercover officers on multiple occasions, the report says.

During the traffic stop, officers seized about $3,000 from Todd Rumple, according to the sheriff’s report. They found an additional $2,470 in a search of the Liz Cortland Road residence, along with drug paraphernalia, the report says.

Investigators later searched Todd Rumple’s residence and seized $6,520, handguns, ammunition, high-powered rifles and shotguns, and drug paraphernalia, the report says.

Zachary Rumple has been placed in the Rowan County Detention Center, with bond set at $2,050,000.

Todd Rumple has been released from the Rowan County Detention Center under a $500,000 secured bond, the report says.

This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Father and son charged with heroin trafficking."