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

DATE: TUESDAY, May 4, 1993                   TAG: 9305040173
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SECOND TIME AROUND, TEEN PLEADS GUILTY

A Roanoke teen-ager pleaded guilty to a cocaine charge on Monday, two weeks after his lawyer argued that the 18-year-old was the victim of stereotyping by police.

Last month, a jury acquitted William Becks of distributing crack after his lawyer said police assumed Becks was guilty just because he was a young black male in a drug-infested neighborhood.

But Becks offered no excuses on Monday, when he was back in court to face his second drug charge in as many weeks.

He pleaded guilty to possessing three rocks of crack that a police officer saw him toss to the ground the afternoon of Jan. 22 near Melrose Park.

Judge Jack Coulter took the case under advisement, meaning that the charge could be dismissed in two years if Becks stays out of trouble. Becks was ordered to perform community service and undergo drug treatment and random drug tests.

Becks was arrested on cocaine charges twice within two weeks. In the case that went to a jury last month, police testified that they observed Becks from 170 yards away as he walked past a Melrose Avenue crack house and placed his hand on the front porch.

Police then charged Becks with distribution after they found crack on the porch and $187 in his pants pocket.

Becks had claimed he was just on his way to Melrose Park to play basketball, and that walking past a crack house was the everyday consequence of living in a high-crime area.

Assistant Public Defender Greg Phillips argued that police assumed "where there's smoke there's fire."

"It would be easy, arresting young black males over and over again, to develop a predisposition and jump to conclusions," Phillips said. "And that's a danger."

The jury found Becks not guilty without having heard about the second charge against him. In the second case, the charge was taken under advisement Monday in an action usually reserved for first-time offenders.

Regional Drug Prosecutor Melvin Hill said police had good reasons to arrest Becks both times. He said the stereotyping that Phillips complained of is more common with the public than with police.

"People sometimes will see a young black male in a new car and immediately assume that he's a drug dealer," Hill said. "And that's unfortunate."

by CNB