BRANCHVILLE
A North Carolina man is in custody today following an interstate pursuit and manhunt, according to information given by Maj. Gene Drewery, spokesman for the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office.

“On Monday at approximately 4:10 p.m., the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office received a call that the North Carolina Highway Patrol was in pursuit of a vehicle on Highway 186 headed toward Virginia,” Drewery stated. “The trooper stopped the pursuit at the state line. Southampton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were in the area when the dispatch received a call that the vehicle had stopped and one occupant was walking north on Highway 186. A female was found and cooperated with the deputies giving them information that the driver, Michael Gene Cherry, had fled into the woods.”

Drewery added that investigation discovered Cherry was wanted in North Carolina for two counts of assault and a federal probation violation. Information was also developed that he was a suspect in several burglaries in the Lake Gaston area.

The following items were found in the vehicle and are believed to be stolen:

Five watches

Two boxes of miscellaneous jewelry

PlayStation 2 with two memory cards and three controllers

Pioneer stereo w/cassette

Durban compact player with speakers

Toby compact player with speakers

Magnavox dvd player

Two Direct TV boxes with two remotes

The Northampton, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Office joined the Southampton Sheriff’s Office in the manhunt that lasted through the night. Cherry was taken into custody around 7:50 a.m. today by a Southampton Sheriff’s Office K9 team.

Cherry is in the Southampton County Jail with no bond.