THOMASVILLE — A slumbering drug suspect had a rude awakening early Wednesday morning.

Jerry Patterson was asleep at his Villa North apartment on Old Albany Road when he awoke to a nightmarish rush of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team and narcotics agents into his bedroom, according to reports.

Thomas County Sheriff’s Office SWAT and Thomas County/Thomasville Narcotics/Vice agents entered Patterson’s bedroom at 5 a.m. Wednesday. Officers were responding to a number of complaints about Patterson selling drugs from his residence, said Louis Schofill, narcotics/vice commander.

The suspect’s apartment has been under surveillance, and undercover drug buys were made at the residence, Schofill said.

As officers closed in, Patterson threw spice from his second-story bedroom window, Schofill said

“There was a deputy SWAT member standing under the window, and the drug landed by the officer’s feet,” the commander said. 

Lt. Tim Watkins, sheriff’s office chief investigator and county SWAT commander, said execution of a search warrant at Patterson’s apartment was the first response of county SWAT since the joint Thomasville Police Department and sheriff’s office SWAT team split in April.

Patterson, 36, is charged with possession of a Schedule I drug and possession of hydrocodone. He is being held at the Thomas County Jail in lieu of a $10,100 bond.

Spice is synthetic marijuana. 

“It’s a different high,” Schofill said.

The drug previously did not show up on drug tests, but with new technology, that is no longer the case, said Schofill, adding, “We’re catching up.”

Spice is a leafy potpourri-type substance on which chemicals are sprayed.

“And the chemicals are changing every day,” Schofill said. 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820