Rockingham police searching a home on South Grove Avenue on Friday found crack cocaine, fentanyl pills, Xanax and two firearms, arresting a 33-year-old man on a stack of drug charges that also includes exposing a child to a controlled substance. The search, carried out by the Rockingham Police Department's Narcotics Division as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation, targeted 212 South Grove Ave. and led to the arrest of Diamante Dijon Wood along with a criminal summons for a 77-year-old man living at the same address.
According to the Richmond County Daily Journal, investigators recovered 16 grams of crack cocaine, six individual dosage units of fentanyl pills, five dosage units of Xanax, less than a half-ounce of marijuana, paraphernalia consistent with the manufacture of crack cocaine, other drug paraphernalia, and two firearms. The department received assistance executing the warrant from its Tactical Response Unit and Criminal Investigation Division, along with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office Community Impact Team and N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, the outlet reported.
Charges Pile Up for Wood, Summons Issued for Older Resident
Wood was charged with manufacturing cocaine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver cocaine, possession with intent to sell or deliver fentanyl, possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule IV controlled substance, exposing a child to a controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, simple possession of marijuana, misdemeanor child abuse, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was placed in the Richmond County Detention Center under a $250,000 secured bond, per the same account.
Albert Alonzo McDonald, 77, was issued a criminal summons charging him with maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Both men are scheduled to appear in court on October 15. Under North Carolina General Statute § 90-108(a)(7), maintaining a dwelling used for keeping, storing or selling controlled substances is a Class I felony that carries active time, according to the Olsinski Law Firm, which notes prosecutors routinely add the charge when a search suggests a residence was continuously used to facilitate drug activity.
New State Law Targets Child Exposure to Drugs
The child-exposure charge against Wood invokes a statute the North Carolina General Assembly enacted under Senate Bill 429, effective December 1, 2025. Knowingly or recklessly exposing a child under 16 to a controlled substance is a Class H felony punishable by up to 25 months in prison, with the offense class increasing if the child ingests the drug; the next escalation requires serious physical injury resulting from ingestion, and further tiers depend on serious bodily injury or death, according to the UNC School of Government. Lawmakers created the standalone felony specifically to target people who leave Schedule I through VI substances accessible to minors.
Friday's arrest is not Wood's first brush with local drug enforcement. He was previously arrested in May 2025 during a three-month undercover operation by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, charged at the time with two counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver cocaine, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, altering or removing a gun's serial number, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the Richmond Observer. That countywide operation, which resulted in charges against 15 individuals, had held Wood on a $100,000 secured bond.
Drug Enforcement Rises as Overdose Rates Stay High
The South Grove Avenue search fits a broader pattern of intensified narcotics enforcement across Rockingham. The Rockingham Police Department's Narcotics Unit executed more than 50 search warrants in 2024 alone, yielding over 120 arrests on more than 300 narcotics charges — a total that has more than tripled since 2020, per the Richmond Observer. The department, led by Police Chief George Gillenwater since November 2021, serves roughly 10,000 residents with 36 sworn officers.
That enforcement push comes against the backdrop of a persistent local overdose crisis. Richmond County recorded an overall drug overdose death rate of 92.8 per 100,000 residents in 2023 — 39 total fatalities, 33 of which involved illicit opioids — giving the county one of the highest per-capita fentanyl and opioid death rates in North Carolina, according to 2024 data from the Richmond County government. Fentanyl-involved fatalities accounted for nearly 89 percent of all drug overdose deaths in the county between late 2022 and late 2023.
A 2025 undercover operation resulted in charges against 15 people, the Richmond Observer reported. Session Law 2025-70 increased penalties for most fentanyl offenses, per the UNC School of Government.
The investigation into the South Grove Avenue search remains ongoing, and police say additional charges could be filed. Rockingham has seen a string of cases in recent months involving children caught up in adult crimes, including a toddler finding a gun over the Fourth of July that left two kids wounded.
