Drug trafficking at Carowinds Blvd. hotel leads to 3 York County arrests, police say

Three men were arrested on drug trafficking charges after officers found them, methamphetamine and a gun at a Carowinds Boulevard hotel.

Rock Hill residents Kenneth Michael Jonas, 30, and Justin Daryl McVige, 25, were booked into York County jail early Tuesday morning along with Edward Emilio Navarro, 27, of Newton, N.C.

All three face charges of trafficking and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Navarro also faces a charge of possession of a stolen pistol. Jonas faces an obstruction of justice charge. Both are being held on $29,000 bond. McVige is in jail on a $27,000 bond.

“It was basically just a tip that led to the search of two hotel rooms, where we found almost 11 ounces of methamphetamine,” said John Rainier with the York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit.

Rainier didn’t name which hotel was involved.

While a gun was found during the arrest and search, it wasn’t used during the incident, he said.

“The gun wasn’t used,” Rainier said. “He didn’t pull it on anybody.”

The arrest was made with assistance from York County Sheriff’s Office deputies. The multijurisdictional unit includes law enforcement from the Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Clover, York and Tega Cay police departments, the sheriff’s office and the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

This story was originally published November 20, 2018 at 3:24 PM.