A six-month investigation resulted in the arrest of an upper-level dealer recently caught in Lancaster County with nearly 1,000 bags of heroin and a large stash of synthetic cannabinoid K2.
The Lancaster County Drug Task Force also found a stolen pistol and 12 grams of cocaine during separate searches of a vehicle in Ephrata Township and an East Lampeter Township hotel room.
The Task Force charged 45-year-old Bobby Rothmiller with several felonies and related charges regarding the Aug. 9 searches.
Rothmiller, of Lancaster city, is at Lancaster County Prison on $1 million bail. He is presumed innocent.
The Task Force had been investigating Rothmiller for several months, obtaining information that he was selling drugs from his East King Street apartment and other locations.
“Mr. Rothmiller was a major player in dealing narcotics in and around Lancaster city,” Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said Friday. “There is no telling how many individuals this amount of heroin could have reached. And the bust is a reminder that K2 and other synthetics are still prevalent.”
On Aug. 9, the Task Force – assisted by Ephrata Borough police – stopped a vehicle Rothmiller was riding in on Route 222.
Police found in duffel-type bags under Rothmilller’s seat:
- 332 bags of heroin
- 233 grams of K2 in 6-gram packages
- 12 grams of cocaine
- $1,020 cash
- Drug-packaging supplies
Manheim Borough police’s K-9 assisted in the vehicle search.
Detectives gained information that Rothmiller had stashed more drugs at the Knights Inn hotel in East Lampeter Township. They searched a room there on the same day and found:
- 576 bags of heroin
- A stolen .380-caliber pistol
- $667 cash
No one else is charged; the investigation is ongoing.
Aside from bail, Rothmiller is also held on a parole/probation matter.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright