By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

Police charged a Salisbury man with cocaine possession following a traffic stop early Saturday night. Officials say a search of his car revealed a small amount of crack cocaine and a search of his body revealed 125 crack rocks hidden near his genitals.

Salisbury Police charged Kenneth Dwayne Neely, 51, of the 400 block of Lincolnton Road, with felony possession of a firearm by a felon, misdemeanor carrying a concealed weapon, felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a controlled substance, and felony maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance.

Police said Neely, also known as Yogi, was traveling fast on Jake Alexander Boulevard in a cream Cadillac Deville. The officer believed the driver was intoxicated when the Cadillac crossed the center line. The vehicle was stopped on Brenner Avenue.

Neely was the only occupant in the car. The officer had a police dog search around the car and it alerted. Neely was asked to step out of the car while officers searched him and the vehicle.

Police found a small Smith & Wesson .22 caliber pistol in the center console, $314 in cash and a crack cocaine rock on the driver’s side floor board.

Upon arriving at the police department, officers conducted a more thorough search and found 25 grams or 125 crack cocaine rocks inside two small plastic, round containers hidden near Neely’s genitals.

In May, Neely was shot in the stomach at his Lincolnton Road duplex apartment by masked armed men. He fought one of the intruders and was shot by another. Neely was taken to the hospital, treated and released later the same day.

In 2014, a then 49-year-old Neely was arrested and charged with cocaine and marijuana possession following a tip.

Neely remains in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $25,000 secured bond.