COLERAIN – Illegal drugs, stolen property and a cache of weapons – local and state law enforcement officials hit the proverbial &uot;jackpot&uot; here last week.

Following an intensive six-month investigation, Kennedy &uot;Pow-Yow&uot; Perry of Colerain is behind bars in the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail on a variety of charges.

Perry, 34 of 706 Perrytown Road, was incarcerated under a $300,000 bond. He stands charged with two counts of possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell and deliver, one count of the sale of crack cocaine, maintaining a building as a place to keep, store and sell crack cocaine, three counts of possession of stolen property and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

&uot;Mr. Perry has had the reputation for being a drug dealer for a very long period of time,&uot; said Detective Sgt. Frank Timberlake of the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division. &uot;His residence and his shop have been a crack cocaine store serving the Colerain area since at least the first part of 2002.&uot;

Armed with that previous knowledge as well as information gained through a recently completed six-month investigation, Timberlake and fellow Narcotics Detective Kenny Gilliam orchestrated a team of law enforcement officers who descended upon Perry’s residence in the early morning hours of Friday, April 29. Officers from the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office, Windsor Police Department, Aulander Police Department, North Carolina ALE and North Carolina National Guard Counter Drug Task Force Unit took part in the drug raid.

Armed with a search warrant for the shop and the residence, officers were able to secure both locations. Perry was found in the front yard area of the shop. After serving Perry with the warrant for his person and shop, officers recovered over one-quarter ounce of crack cocaine from his person and over $400 in cash.

The search then centered on Perry’s residence, revealing stolen property – chain saws, various power equipment and a Honda four-wheeler.

&uot;Something I feel was really rewarding to us during the search was that we recovered two chain saws that belonged to the town of Aulander,&uot; Timberlake noted. &uot;Often, with the sale of crack cocaine, property is stolen and traded for drugs to support their habit. It just goes to show you that this is truly not just one’s problem, but it is a problem for us all.&uot;

Four firearms were also discovered during the search.

Timberlake said Perry’s residence, along with the shop on the same premises, had been under surveillance for a long period of time. He credited that surveillance as the main reason for officers being able to close an alleged &uot;drug supplying location.&uot;

&uot;When we are performing these types of operations, it takes manpower to insure the integrity of the investigation and the safety of the public and the officers,&uot; Timberlake noted.

He concluded by saying, &uot;I would like to thank all the participating agencies for the long and hard work that was put in on this arrest.

Thanks to the citizens who made the complaints concerning this area and we hope we have made this area a little bit safer.&uot;