Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 8, 1994 TAG: 9401080092
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Willie J. Ollie, 20, received the sentence after a trial Thursday in Roanoke Circuit Court.
Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute carries up to 40 years in prison, and juries traditionally have been harsh on crack dealers since the highly addictive drug arrived in Roanoke.
"I think in this case, the jury had some questions about guilt," said Assistant Public Defender Steve Milani, who represented Ollie.
Ollie, of Roanoke, was arrested in March on Melrose Avenue Northwest, after police spotted him handing an unidentified object to another man and taking money.
He fled when police approached him and was caught a short time later. A search produced no drugs, but police retraced his footprints in the snow and found a plastic bag holding five rocks of crack at a spot where Ollie had slipped and fallen.
Police also found about $150 in cash in Ollie's pocket, but his girlfriend testified the money was for her to pay for an abortion.
Ollie, who at the time was a student at Norfolk State College, did not fit the typical profile of a Roanoke drug dealer.
"I think if juries start to see that it's not just the guys with gold chains, beepers and guns, but that it's a more widespread problem, you'll see more jury verdicts like this one," Milani said.
Regional Drug Prosecutor Alice Ekirch had argued that Ollie was actively dealing in drugs that night.
Because Ollie did not testify, jurors did not learn he has a prior cocaine offense. He was on bond awaiting sentencing on that charge at the time of his arrest in March, Ekirch said.
Ollie will be eligible for parole after serving less than a year of his sentence, Ekirch said. Ollie, who was also fined $5,000, will be formally sentenced later.
by CNB