ROANOKE TIMES

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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993                   TAG: 9303170296
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short


ROANOKE MAN SHOT AFTER ARGUMENT

A Roanoke man was shot several times Tuesday night, apparently after arguing with drug dealers, Roanoke police said.

Leon P. Forrest, 40, had been shot several times in the chest and abdomen when police responded to the 1000 block of Madison Avenue Northwest about 5:30 p.m., Sgt. K.A. Johnson said.

Forrest told officers that he had been walking when four men approached him, asking if he wanted to buy crack cocaine, Johnson said.

Forrest told police that he sampled the drug, then accused the men of trying to sell him "dummies," or fake cocaine, Johnson said.

After the men demanded money of him and Forrest refused, one of the men pulled out a small-caliber handgun and shot him, Johnson said. Forrest was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he was still in surgery late Tuesday.



by Archana Subramaniam by CNB