Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 15, 1995 TAG: 9504170003
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
Police have sent drug dealers and users in this small university city a tough message in recent years: Violators will be prosecuted.
Nine of the 10 people charged last spring in Radford's annual drug sweep were convicted either of their original charges or pleaded guilty to lesser offenses.
City police and Radford's commonwealth's attorney say they're proud of their record when it comes to catching and prosecuting drug suspects.
"I think we've been very successful, very successful, over the past five years," Commonwealth's Attorney Randal Duncan said. Since 1990, about 100 people have been charged in the annual roundups.
Seven of the 10 arrested in 1994 served time, ranging from 30 days in jail to three years in prison. Two paid fines of $750 and $2,000 and four were ordered to make donations - ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 - to a fund that helps police further their undercover drug work.
The 10th case was taken under advisement, Duncan said, but the judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to find guilt. That 10th person, Jason C. Pollard, faces sentencing on his drug case because he was caught 21/2 months shy of his 21st birthday using someone else's ID at a Blacksburg bar. He was found guilty of that charge and fined $500.
Another defendant, Jeremy Worthy, who served 90 days in jail and whose felony marijuana charges were under advisement for possible reduction to misdemeanors, was convicted in March of selling alcohol without a license and selling alcohol to a minor. He was fined $100 on each charge and has jeopardized his probation.
The Police Department's detective division conducts the undercover operations, with no assistance from a regional task force. Instead, detectives hire informants who are wired to make audio recordings of drug buys.
Court records show that one informant was paid up to $50 for a misdemeanor buy and $100 for a felony drug buy. Other informants had pending charges but weren't promised anything in exchange for their cooperation.
Informants and the police learn finding sellers is relatively easy. "Word gets out [as to] who deals," Duncan said.
"There are dabblers. There are dealers who sell merely to support their own habit or those of their friends," Duncan said.
Then there are the others - the big-time dealers "who in my opinion take advantage of those with substance abuse problems and make a handsome sum of money," Duncan said.
Most of Radford's dealers fall into the first category, but midlevel dealers have been arrested, and police hope the smaller busts will lead them to the main players and help them bring drug trafficking under control in the city.
"Eventually we will get there. ... Keep chipping away and we will get there," said Jackie Roop, captain of the detective division.
|n n| Roop, a 21-year police veteran, has seen Radford's anti-drug efforts grow from his one-man efforts making buys with money out of his own pocket to three and four detectives using informants to make the buys.
Five years ago, detectives made their first bust for crack cocaine. Marijuana, LSD, prescription drugs and mushrooms dominated their busts until this year, when a Radford grand jury returned 28 indictments, all for crack cocaine.
"I would say it has more than tripled what we saw three years ago," Roop said of crack sales in the city.
Radford has stepped up its drug-fighting battle because, Roop said, "if we don't try to at least stay even with them," then police will lose control.
"Right now, the streets are relatively safe for people to get out and walk or whatever," Roop said.
Still, drug trafficking is common enough that many people know where drug dealers and suppliers are centered.
"If we bring in 10 people, eight of them are going to say, 'Hey, let's go here.'"
"Here" could be a city street or a parking lot where dealers are known to hang out. "You can go to East End, West End, or you can go to Central Radford ... and if you spent anytime out there at all you would know who to approach," Roop said.
"On a good night," detectives can go out and spend a couple thousand dollars making buys, he said.
In 1993, then Gov. Douglas Wilder presented the Radford Police Department with the Governor's Award for Anti-Drug Efforts. Duncan, who nominated the department, said the award recognizes the department's commitment to prosecuting drug offenders and educating others about the dangers of doing drugs.
Roop credits good tips and citizen involvement for helping to find and arrest drug suspects. "When we get calls saying 'Hey, people are standing here on the street corner dealing crack cocaine,'... then we have to take some action," Roop said.
Seemingly on cue, the phone rings and Roop takes a tip from a citizen who suspects someone of having illegal drugs. Business owners and employees also will call about people who sit for long periods of time in cars in their parking lots.
"It keeps you busy just taking the information," Roop said.
But the information is just the beginning.
|n n| It can takes months to bring an investigation to a close. Most drug sweeps are six-month efforts. To take the drudgery out of long investigations, the detectives playfully select a theme for each drug sweep. This year's slogan was a NASCAR-based "Radford's Race to a Drug-free Community." A previous campaign was called the "Christmas Wish List."
The detectives put in extra time to supervise the buys taking them away from home in the evening and night hours. They get compensatory time off, not overtime. And they have their regular 40-hour work week of cases under investigation.
"You have got to have some people at home that are willing to accept it," Lt. Wayne Frye said. "Your family has good days and bad days about you walking out the door every night."
While the detectives aren't making the buys themselves, there have been close calls with informants' safety. One informant was robbed of $130 by a person he was trying to make a buy from and the seller's gun discharged into a car seat.
Once the cases reach the courtroom, Duncan and defense attorneys may negotiate a plea agreement based on the evidence or because the defendant doesn't want to gamble with a jury trial where stiffer sentences are possible.
The 10 defendants charged in 1994 collectively received 11 years and eight months of prison and jail time to serve plus more than 35 years in suspended time that could be imposed if they violate probation. Two defendants were fined a total of $2,750 and four defendants must make donations to the Police Narcotics Fund that total $19,000. Other conditions imposed include probation, public speaking to youth groups and substance abuse counseling.
The money donated to the Police Narcotics Fund is used for further drug investigations.
"It's allowing us to purchase equipment and to fund investigations that we couldn't do without it," Duncan said.
The donations are "funding investigations that the taxpayers don't have to pay. The criminal element is paying ... It is not available to those who have the most serious violations," Duncan said.
Public speaking by the defendants helps send the message that drugs will not be tolerated in Radford, and if you're caught, you'll face a stiff sentence, Duncan said.
"I think it's effective and I support the judge encouraging defendants to do that," Duncan said. "They can hear it from their mom. They can hear it from their dad ... [but] I think it's particularly effective to hear it from a young person who has gone down the wrong road. ... They can tell them first-hand how serious that is."
by CNB