AULANDER – Drugs and a loaded handgun in plain view within a home where children were present made for what could have been a deadly situation here March 21.

Those circumstances led to the arrest and subsequent wide range of charges against three Aulander residents n Tornesha Shadai Perry, 21, Larry Gwaine “Tiger” Williams, 35, and 27-year-old Larry Jamal Williams.

The arrests came on the heels of Aulander Police Chief Jimmy Barmer and Bertie Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Roebuck making inquiries of a man walking on Commerce Street past midnight.

“As part of our safety patrols around town, we will check on who’s walking our streets, especially late at night,” Barmer said. “That’s how these arrests eventually began.”

Barmer said upon asking the subject who he was and why was he out so late, the Chief stated the man told him he was Brian Williams, but had no proof of identification.

“He gave us a DOB (date of birth) that didn’t match the age that Deputy Roebuck and myself thought he was,” Barmer said. “He also raised our suspicions because he had the strong odor of marijuana on him. When we asked where he had been he told us he had just left Tiger’s (Larry G. Williams) house and that someone there could positively identify him.”

With the man as their rider, Barmer and Roebuck went to Larry G. Williams’ residence at 132 Medson Lee Road.

“Tiger Williams answered the door and I asked if anyone there could identify this man,” Barmer said. “It was at this time that I noticed a bong (device used for smoking marijuana) on the kitchen table and a bag of marijuana on the kitchen floor.”

Barmer placed Larry G. Williams under arrest at this point and asked if there was anyone else in the residence.

“Tiger told me his ‘girl’ was in the house and two children, an infant and a 7-year-old,” Barmer said. “At that time I asked Deputy Roebuck to check the rest of the house. As he was about to enter the hallway he noticed, in plain view, a .40 caliber handgun on the arm of a couch.”

Barmer added that the weapon was loaded and the serial number appeared to have been ground-off.

“Once I confronted the woman of the house (later identified as Perry), I ask if there was anything else in the house we should be aware of,” Barmer stated. “She told me there was a big bag of marijuana in the back bedroom.”

Bertie Sheriff’s Narcotics Division Detective Kenny Gilliam obtained a search warrant for the residence, leading to the seizure of 87.2 grams of marijuana. The pot was packaged into 20 individually wrapped bags. Also seized were the handgun, packaging material and scales.

“At that point we placed Miss Perry and the other man under arrest,” Barmer said. “Once we got to the Sheriff’s Office in Windsor we learned that Brian Williams was actually Larry Jamal Williams who was on a fugitive warrant from the state of Virginia plus had several outstanding Bertie County warrants against him.”

Perry and Larry G. “Tiger” Williams were each charged with felony possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, felony possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana near a park or a playground, maintaining a dwelling to keep a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number and child abuse. “Tiger” Williams was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Barmer said the child abuse charge stemmed from having a loaded weapon in a residence occupied by children and that the weapon was in easy access of the children.

Perry was jailed under a $50,000 secured bond while “Tiger” Williams was held under a $300,000 cash bond.

Larry Jamal Williams was charged with simple possession of marijuana and resist, delay and obstruct (by giving a fictitious name to a law enforcement officer). Upon learning his true identity, Larry J. Williams was also charged on the Virginia fugitive warrant. Additionally, he was served with the three outstanding warrants in Bertie County n discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle (from August 2005), injury to personal property (August 2005) and assault on a female (January 2006).

He is currently being held without bond in the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail.