Salisbury Resident Detained On Federal Drug And Firearms Charges
Faces Up to Life in Prison If Convicted
Greensboro, NC – JERRY WAYNE AVERY, JR., 34, of Salisbury, North Carolina, was detained yesterday on federal drug and firearms charges, announced Anna Mills Wagoner, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.
A five-count indictment was returned against AVERY on August 28, 2007. The indictment charges him with two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”), with a total net weight of 55.7 grams; one count of possession with intent to distribute 326.5 grams of marijuana; one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
If convicted on either or both of the crack cocaine drug charges, AVERY could be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of not less than ten years nor more than life, a fine of up to $2,000,000, or both, and supervised release of at least four years.
If convicted on the marijuana charge, AVERY could be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of not more than five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and supervised release of at least two years.
If convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, AVERY faces a sentence of imprisonment of not less than five years, which cannot run concurrently with any other term of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and supervised release of not more than five years.
Finally, if convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon, AVERY faces a sentence of imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and supervised release of not more than three years.
AVERY is currently in state custody. The federal detainer prevents him from being released by state authorities, pending his transfer to federal custody. No date has been set for AVERY’s initial appearance in federal court.
The investigation was jointly conducted by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Salisbury Police Department.
The public is cautioned that an indictment is a formal method of issuing charges. It does not, in and of itself, create an inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until such time, if ever, as the government establishes his or her guilt by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
