ROCK HILL, S.C. - A state trooper and his father have been arrested and charged with selling crack cocaine at the father's house, authorities say.

Trooper Tony Caldwell, 37, of Spartanburg was released from a Rock Hill jail Saturday after he posted $10,000 bond on two crack cocaine distribution charges and receiving and possessing stolen goods, authorities said. He has been suspended without pay, said state Public Safety Department spokesman Sid Gaulden.

Eugene Caldwell, 56, also faces two crack cocaine distribution charges as well as unlawful storage of liquor, bookmaking, possession of marijuana and operating a business without a license. He was being held at the jail Saturday night on $10,500 bond.

The younger Caldwell was assigned to the Spartanburg area and has been a trooper with the Highway Patrol since the summer of 2002. He and his father are originally from Chester.

Agents from a drug task force raided the home about 8:30 p.m. Friday, after undercover officers bought crack from Eugene Caldwell earlier in the week, said Marvin Brown, senior commander of the task force.

When they went inside the home, Tony Caldwell, who was off-duty and dressed in plain clothes, rushed into the kitchen and threw a bag of crack into a sink, Brown said.

Officers recovered the plastic bag, which contained five rocks of crack. They also found a plastic bag with three rocks of crack in Tony Caldwell's pocket, Brown said.

In all, officers seized 1 gram of crack from Tony Caldwell and 4.5 grams from his father.

Brown said the trooper was not targeted in the probe. Tony Caldwell had two Highway Patrol-issued weapons - one strapped to his ankle and the other in his personal vehicle.

"He was nice about the whole thing, but our indication was that he and his daddy were selling crack," Brown said.

The task force had received numerous complaints of drug activity at the home in the past several weeks, Brown said.

The home had four refrigerators and more than 20 cases of beer and numerous bottles of liquor, Brown said. Agents also recovered stolen VCR's, power tools and car radios, which were presumably traded for drugs or alcohol, Brown said.

Information from: The Herald