
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990                   TAG: 9003270237
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

DRUG RING LEADERS GET PRISON SENTENCES

Three leaders of one of the city's oldest and most powerful drug rings have been sent to prison after pleading guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

James Reginald Smith, 55, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison on two charges. His cousin, Charles Henry Smith, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and John J. Shelton received a 12-year term from U.S. District Judge Richard Williams.

Police say the drug ring was founded in the mid-1960s by James Edward Smith, also known as "Dump Truck Smitty." James Edward Smith and James Reginald Smith are half-brothers.

James Edward Smith pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C., last year to federal charges of heroin distribution and income tax evasion and is serving a 30-year sentence.

- Associated Press

by CNB