By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

Police say they found a sleeping man on a front porch at a West Lafayette Street home early Monday morning. Once awakened, the man was found to have crack cocaine.

Salisbury Police charged Rodney Allen Shannon, 35, of the streets of Salisbury, with felony possession of cocaine. Officers arrived at the home, located in the 200 block of West Lafayette Street, just after midnight to assist the Salisbury Fire Department with an unresponsive person.

When police approached the sleeping man, later identified as Shannon, he had both hands inside the pockets of a hooded sweatshirt he was wearing. He told police who he was, but the residents said they didn’t know him.

Police said Shannon smelled of alcohol and so they were going to take him to the jail until he was sober. When police patted him down, they found seven crack rocks inside a Newport cigarette package.

Shannon has been convicted of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor communicating threats, possession of a firearm by felon, selling a scheduled II controlled substance, felony possession of a scheduled II controlled substance, driving while impaired, misdemeanor communicating threats, hit and run, and driving while license revoked on multiple occasions.

He remains in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $1,000 secured bond.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.