RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced on April 19 that Rashem Santa Perry, age 26 of Ahoskie, was sentenced in United States District Court today. The charges stem from a search of the defendant’s residence on May 5, 2017.

Chief U.S. District Judge James C. Dever, III sentenced Perry to 120 months in prison following his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms.

Perry has been validated as a high-ranking member of the United Blood Nation street gang.

On May 4, 2017, Ahoskie Police Department Officers used a confidential informant to purchase marijuana from another individual from Perry’s residence. The informant was also able to purchase a stolen .22 rifle.

The following day, May 5, 2017, officers from the Ahoskie Police Department and agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) executed a search warrant at Perry’s residence. The officers found Perry running from a rear bedroom. In a closet in that bedroom was an AR-15 rifle and a partially loaded 30-round AR-15 magazine. A .40 caliber handgun was also seized from the residence.

The rifle had been reported stolen in Ahoskie on April 29, 2017. The .40 caliber weapon was one of approximately 30 handguns stolen during the burglary of TAMZ Guns in Ahoskie on April 15, 2017.

Subsequent to Perry’s arrest, he attempted to obstruct the investigation by directing other gang members to have a 14-year-old male take responsibility for the firearms.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Ahoskie Police Department, the Down East Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Assistant United States Attorney John Bennett is prosecuting the case.