1991 DRUG BUST YIELDS $61,960 FOR CRIME-FIGHTERS

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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 3, 1993                   TAG: 9303030239
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: PEARISBURG                                LENGTH: Medium
1991 DRUG BUST YIELDS $61,960 FOR CRIME-FIGHTERS
The Giles County Drug Task Force has received $61,960 from the federal government as part of the proceeds from a 1991 drug-trafficking arrest in Montgomery County.
The two checks were given to the task force last week as its share of $104,491 seized in Montgomery County during the arrest of a Giles County man two years ago. The state police and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office also received a share of the proceeds.
In May 1991, state and local authorities seized the cash following the arrest of a drug suspect in Montgomery County. Patrick Wilson Johnson of Narrows, who was 45 when he was arrested, was charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and with possession of cocaine after his car was stopped outside Blacksburg.
Police said they found nearly $65,000 and 10 pounds of marijuana in the car trunk and a couple of grams of cocaine inside the car. They said they found $39,600, a pound of marijuana and a few mushrooms in a later search of a rented storage space.
State and local charges were later dismissed so the case could be prosecuted at a federal level. But Richard Chidester, Giles County assistant commonwealth's attorney, said Johnson has not gone to trial and is considered a fugitive from justice.
Federal law requires that the money received by the task force be used to enhance enforcement of drug laws. "These funds will allow us to purchase much needed equipment to continue our ongoing efforts to combat drugs in Giles County without any cost to our taxpayers," Lt. Gary Price of the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
"It is very rewarding to be able to use profits made from the sale of illegal drugs to combat the drug problem."
Price also urged citizens to report suspected drug activity. Callers may remain anonymous, he said. Last year, an anonymous letter resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of marijuana and cultivating equipment.
The Giles task force is composed of members of the Sheriff's Office, state police, Pearisburg and Narrows police, state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents and the commonwealth's attorney's office.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB