Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 19, 1991 TAG: 9104190202
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER and MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
George Walters, 37, and George Boyd, 32, both from Sunrise, Fla., were stopped for having a radar detector. And Mark Stephen Logan, 36, and Norma Jean Lee, 24, both of Louisiana, were stopped for speeding, state police said.
Walters and Boyd were charged Thursday with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia, said Trooper Mike Musser. Walters, who was driving, also was charged with illegal use of a radar detector.
A rental car from Florida was traveling north along U.S. 77 about 11 a.m. Thursday when state police saw the detector on the dashboard and stopped the car near the Wythe/Bland county line, Musser said.
The two men said they didn't know radar detectors were illegal in Virginia, he said.
Musser got permission to search the car and found plastic sandwich bags in a suitcase. When Musser asked the men what the bags were for, they said they were taking them to a friend in Ohio.
Musser suspected the bags were used for drugs and called for help from drug-sniffing dogs.
He and another state trooper searched the car and found a total of 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana stashed in different places. Packets of marijuana were hidden in the upholstery of the back seat and in side panels in the rear of the hatchback, Musser said.
Black ground pepper and red hot peppers had been placed in the bags to disguise the smell of the drugs, he added.
Walters and Boyd were being held in the Bland County Jail on $15,000 bond each. A hearing was set for June 13.
On Tuesday, state police in Wythe County seized about $31,000 and a pickup truck.
Logan and Lee were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, such as used medical syringes, found in luggage in the pickup truck. Logan also was charged with reckless driving.
Musser stopped the truck for speeding in a construction zone on Interstate 81 near a bridge over Reed Creek. The truck struck two barrels marking the construction, Musser said.
After getting permission to search the truck, he found the money in $10 and $20 bills.
The couple said they were carrying the cash to buy seafood in New York, Musser said.
A hearing was set for June 14.
by CNB