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

DATE: FRIDAY, July 27, 1990                   TAG: 9007270615
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FINANCIAL INQUIRY ORDERED FOR N.Y. DRUG SUSPECT

A Roanoke judge questioned that assertion Thursday, calling for an inquiry into a financial statement in which Sandra Mise requested a court-appointed attorney.

General District Judge John Apostolou wondered how someone allegedly involved in such a lucrative business could suddenly claim to have no assets.

"The integrity of the system would be compromised if we had people coming in here and saying: `I don't have anything, let the taxpayers pay for it,' " Apostolou said.

Mise, 23, is accused of trying to smuggle the largest amount of crack seized in Roanoke - about 16 ounces with a street value of $110,000 - from New York through the Roanoke airport.

Following testimony that Mise was arrested in what a defense attorney called a "drug courier profile" operation at the airport, Apostolou ruled there was probable cause to support a charge of possession of crack with intent to distribute. He certified the case to a grand jury.

After making his ruling, Apostolou raised the question of Mise's financial standing.

The issue of appointing lawyers to represent alleged drug dealers who may have hidden assets has been a concern "ever since crack hit the streets," said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jeff Rudd.

Rudd said it is not uncommon for judges to raise questions about a defendant's income, especially those who are accused of being involved in large drug deals and those who post cash bonds.

But Steven Milani, an assistant public defender who was appointed to represent Mise, said he believes she is entitled to free counsel.

Since her arrest, Mise has been unable to post bond, Milani said.

Even if drug defendants are willing to hire their own attorneys, a new federal policy of seizing legal fees that come from drug profits has discouraged some defense lawyers from taking the cases.

"It is disconcerting to defense lawyers that their fees might be seized pending a hearing to determine if the money flowed from drug sales," Rudd said.

Mise is one of five people arrested at the Roanoke airport since city police began to monitor debarking passengers. Suspicious-looking passengers have been approached and questioned.

Although the criteria for approaching someone is based on certain descriptions and actions, Rudd objected when Milani referred to the practice as a "profile" arrest.

Such language "carries with it the connotation that police officers are stopping people at random," Rudd said after the hearing.

Under the profile method, police can approach someone who looks or acts suspicious. However, they cannot arrest or detain the person based solely on their appearance. But police are allowed to briefly question the suspect - a procedure that sometimes leads to an arrest.

Vice Detective Monti Lee testified Thursday that Mise, the second person to step off an airplane from New York's LaGuardia Airport, caught his attention because she was wearing a leather jacket and a loose-fitting sweater that extended half-way to her knees. The temperature outside was 73 degrees.

As Lee made eye contact with Mise, she quickly looked away and appeared to become nervous, Lee testified.

As the detective followed the woman down the concourse, she began to walk rapidly and often glanced over her shoulder.

At that point, Lee approached Mise and identified himself as a police officer. She agreed to talk and gave him her airline ticket.

The ticket confirmed Lee's suspicions in several respects: it was for a one-way flight from New York, a known source of crack in Roanoke; it had been purchased with cash just 30 minutes prior to takeoff; and it showed that Mise had no luggage to claim.

Lee then asked if police could search Mise, and she consented. A woman detective found three plastic bags of crack that had been wrapped in masking tape and stuffed into Mise's stone-washed blue jeans.

Although drug profile arrests have generated controversy, several Supreme Court decisions have upheld the practice on the premise that a temporary delay of someone is justified to dispel the suspicion that they are carrying drugs.

However, the cases continue to receive careful scrutiny from defense attorneys. "I think there's always room for argument," Milani said.