Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 8, 1993 TAG: 9310080045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In Bedford County General District Court on Thursday, Scully pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and was sentenced to one year in jail (suspended after 90 days), 200 hours of community service and one year of supervised probation, said Joe Kuster, an assistant commonwealth's attorney. The former U.S. Olympic race-walker begins serving his sentence today.
The charge had been plea-bargained from manufacturing marijuana, not for Scully's own use - a felony punishable by five to 30 years in jail and fines up to $10,000.
"I did something wrong, I got caught and now I just have to do what they say," Scully said Thursday, referring to the drug sentence. "I didn't lie or try to get out of it.
"Everything's gone downhill the last three years. I hope this is the end."
Scully was growing eight marijuana plants in his back yard in Big Island, and two law-enforcement officers spotted the plants from a helicopter. "He wasn't a target," Kuster said.
Kuster said Bedford County investigator Mike Mehaffey and police officer Brian Snyder were flying an "eradication detail" that is part of a cooperative program involving the Bedford County Sheriff's Department, Virginia State Police and the Virginia National Guard.
"He said it was for his own use," Kuster said. "The officers believed he was above-board, honest and cooperative."
With Scully's consent, the officers searched his house for signs - such as small plastic bags - that Scully planned to sell his crop.
"They didn't find any of that here," Kuster said. "We felt there was a good possibility he wasn't [going to distribute marijuana]. It was the amount he had that led to getting a pretty stiff sentence."
Kuster said it was Scully's first offense. With time off for good behavior, Kuster said, Scully may serve as few as 45 days in Bedford County Jail.
In his 15 years at Tech, Scully coached the Hokies' cross country runners to 11 Metro Conference championships and produced 12 All-America distance runners.
Virginia Tech is awaiting word from the NCAA on sanctions it faces after reporting rules violations it says occurred under Scully, mostly from 1988-90. Scully denies the charges.
In July, Tech's faculty senate agreed with Scully that he had been fired in May 1991 without due process after the harassment complaint.
by CNB