Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 28, 1994 TAG: 9404280221
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Radford Police began arresting 10 people - including six Radford University students and two Ferrum College students - on 21 drug charges Wednesday morning.
The indictments were returned by a special grand jury which met Tuesday. City police began making arrests at about 7 a.m. and were continuing to search for a few suspects late Wednesday afternoon, including two people who were not part of the indictments but who will be charged by warrants with drug offenses.
April drug busts have become all but expected in Radford. They usually come a week or so before the end of the spring semester so police can arrest students before they go home for the summer.
Commonwealth's Attorney Randal Duncan called Wednesday's arrests "a continuation of the commitment we made four years ago that there's no safe haven for distributing drugs in Radford."
Since 1990, Radford police have placed about 100 drug charges during the spring. The undercover operations, headed by the detective division, come about with no assistance from a regional task force. Instead, Duncan said informants who are wired to make audio recordings of drug buys are used.
Last fall, Gov. Doug Wilder presented the Radford Police Department with the Governor's Award for Anti-Drug Efforts. Duncan, who nominated the department, said the award recognized the department's commitment to prosecuting drug offenders and educating others about the dangers of doing drugs.
It was a potpourri of drugs that undercover informants and Radford detectives found during an investigation that started last fall, said Detective Sgt. Wayne Frye. Marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, crack cocaine and LSD were purchased in generally small quantities, Duncan said.
Spokesmen at both the Radford and Ferrum schools said the campus officials do not try to shield their students from the laws of the state.
"When students come to Quest (an orientation program), we make a point of saying, 'your being here and being on campus does not exempt you from the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.' I don't think they mince words about that," said Radford spokeswoman Deborah L. Brown.
Tom Rickard, a Ferrum spokesman, said the campus is normally a quiet one and "this kind of stuff" doesn't happen frequently. But when it does, Rickard said, "we don't shield them from the law.''
by CNB