Albany Herald

Cherrie Jackson, 28, is led to an Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit SUV Wednesday after being arrested for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and Ecstasy from the apartment she shares with Diron Weeks, 36, who was also arrested.

ALBANY — ALBANY, Ga. — The bust began with a knock on the door by the Albany Metro SWAT team at about 9:30 a.m Wednesday at the Hilltop Apartments.

It ended with a man and a pregnant woman in cuffs led out to an Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit SUV, the seizure of about 1.5 pounds of marijuana, 427 Ecstasy pills, $1,262 in cash, scales used in drug dealing, a 74-inch flat-screen television, a computer and more.

“We called the SWAT team to serve the search warrant because he was known to be in a gang, the East Side Mafia,” Drug Unit Commander Maj. Bill Berry said of the male suspect. “We found some ammunition clips and holsters but no weapons.”

Diron Weeks, 36, was taken to the Dougherty County Jail and charged with trafficking in drugs, due to the amount of Ecstasy, and possession with intent to distribute for the marijuana in the couple’s apartment.

According to drug agent George Camp, Weeks had recently served eight years in prison for dealing cocaine.

Cherrie Jackson, 28, who is nearly nine months pregnant, was also arrested, but she was not booked into jail. Because she could deliver in a little more than a week or sooner, Jackson was questioned and set free.

She will have warrants taken on her and will be allowed to turn herself in on those warrants. If she fails to show up, Berry said she would be found and put in jail.

No word on the street value of the Ecstasy was immediately available, but the website priceofweed.com put the average cost of 1.5 pounds medium quality marijuana at $3,948.24.

At the couple’s 2520 Hilltop Drive apartment, a peek in the open door disclosed packages of party-decorated presents such as a baby carriage and other presents usually found at a baby shower.

Berry was unwilling to say how his unit found out about the drug stash at the apartment complex. He did say that drugs were sold out of the apartment and probably other locations.

“This is a more-than-street-level dealer,” Berry said. “He once reported to the APD (Albany Police Department) that someone tried to break into his apartment. I wonder what they were looking for.”