North Carolina

NC man had fentanyl in his kitchen sink — and he led police right to it, sheriff says 

A 55-year-old man at a hit-and-run scene was arrested after authorities say he told a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy he had a large amount of liquid fentanyl in his Lake Norman-area home.

An Iredell County sheriff’s deputy found 128 ounces of the drug in a sink of the man’s home, Sheriff Darren Campbell said Wednesday.

The home is located on Mount Mourne Loop. That’s off Langtree Road off Interstate 77 Exit 31 in southern Iredell County.

The deputy found “several chunks of a white substance covered in water in the kitchen sink” of Ronnie Lynn Benfield’s home on Sunday, Feb. 5, Campbell said in a news release on Facebook.

The deputy also found a loaded Ruger 9mm handgun in the home, Campbell said.

Benfield was charged with trafficking in heroin (fentanyl), maintaining a dwelling for the sale or use of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a felon.

This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 4:14 PM.

Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER