Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 20, 1993 TAG: 9301200068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MAN CONVICTED IN DRUG-BUY MURDER
Reginald Lee Noel was convicted Tuesday of killing a man who drove into a Roanoke housing project in search of crack cocaine.Noel, 22, of Roanoke, will face a maximum punishment of life in prison when he is sentenced later for the first-degree murder of George F. Elliott.
After responding to reports of gunfire at the Lansdowne housing project last April 13, police found Elliott slumped across the seat of his van, with a $20 bill clutched in his right hand.
Elliott was shot in the head as Noel attempted to rob him of his drug money, prosecutors said.
Noel had been charged with capital murder. But under a plea agreement reached in Roanoke Circuit Court, he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of first-degree murder. At the request of prosecutors, the court then dropped charges of attempted robbery and use of a firearm.
According to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom's summary of the evidence, several witnesses saw Noel and another man approach Elliott's van as he pulled into Delta Drive.
One witness told authorities that Noel said he planned to rob Elliott before walking up to the van.
Noel then ordered Elliott to "give it up" - apparently referring to the money intended for a drug deal. Elliott responded there was no need for guns. "I'm a good man . . . I spend good money," one witness quoted him as saying.
Elliott, who was not armed, was then shot once behind his left ear. He was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
Had the case gone to trial, witnesses would have testified that Elliott - a 31-year-old heating and air conditioning technician from Vinton - was a regular purchaser of crack in the city's open-air drug markets.
He was one of three potential drug buyers to be fatally shot last year after driving to spots in the city known for street-side sales of crack.
Assistant Public Defender John Varney said that while Noel did not dispute Branscom's summary of the prosecution's evidence, he has a different version of what happened that day. Noel did not testify Tuesday.
Keywords:
ROMUR