Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507240093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Drug dealing became an addiction for Eric McCoy.
There was the thrill of traveling from city to city, carrying pills of Ecstasy through the airport without getting caught. There was the all-night partying at raves along the East Coast. There was the money, the independence and the popularity that made the business all the more worthwhile.
At one time, McCoy's reputation as a major source of pure MDMA, or Ecstasy, was well-deserved.
"I had the best Ecstasy and people want to do the best," he said. "I showed something to people they've never seen before. I gave them an opportunity to try something. It's a crime under society, but it's not a crime under my eyes. I've never done anything to intentionally hurt or incriminate anyone."
Then, the 20-year-old Roanoke man got busted.
Last week, four police informants fingered McCoy and his friend, Travis Entsminger, as distributors of Ecstasy and LSD on the Roanoke rave scene. But it was McCoy whom police had heard the most about.
"We feel he is a major source of Ecstasy and other rave-type drugs in the area," Roanoke Vice Lt. Ron Carlisle said.
Police say McCoy's and Entsminger's arrests are two of several made in the local Rave scene as part of an ongoing investigation.
Along with LSD and Special K, or Ketamine - an animal tranquilizer that some ravers snort - Ecstasy is popular at raves, all-night dance parties that feature rapid-fire backbeats and laser-light shows.
Ravers say Ecstasy's high deepens their sense perceptions - making them want to touch, cuddle and suck on pacifiers and lollipops. The high usually lasts for several hours, creating an intense rush within the first 20 minutes.
According to some drug experts, in high dosages the drug can cause brain damage. And many say that few users know the purity of the drug they are taking. Ravers say the drug can be cut with heroin.
In England, where raves have been popular for more than a decade, at least 25 partiers have died after they took the drug, danced continuously for hours and overheated. Two ravers in Florida died in a similar fashion last summer.
McCoy frequented raves along the East Coast and locally - an atmosphere where he said he could escape from everything else around him.
The night of July 15, a police informant said McCoy was dealing from his room at the Radisson Patrick Henry Hotel on Jefferson Street, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Roanoke Circuit Court. A rave was taking place several blocks away at The Iroquois on Salem Avenue Southwest.
McCoy registered at the hotel under a fake name. He was seen making several telephone calls from a pay phone across the street, according to the affidavit.
Police stopped him as he left the hotel, on his way to the rave. He said he was returning a pager to a friend.
At 12:15 a.m. July 16, police began searching McCoy and Entsminger's room. After more than an hour, they had found 2 pounds of marijuana, 3 grams of white powder, 26 pills and $2,112, according to the affidavit.
``I was like, `Damn, I can't believe this,''' McCoy said. ``Honestly, I was trying to do good.''
Police charged McCoy and Entsminger with selling marijuana. Authorities say additional charges may be filed after test results are complete on the pills and powder found in the room.
McCoy said he was holding the marijuana for a friend and that the pills were Valium, which he got through another friend.
It wasn't the first time McCoy had been arrested. Two months ago, Greensboro, N.C., narcotics detectives stopped him outside a rave, finding a fistful of Ecstasy pills on him. He was charged with selling Ecstasy. McCoy said he later agreed to a plea bargain that reduced his charge to simple possession. He received three years' probation.
With the Roanoke arrest, McCoy now could face jail time in North Carolina.
``At one time I was a drug dealer ... when I knew hundreds of people on `E' and I'd sell to them,'' he said. ``But I haven't sold `E' since I got in trouble'' in Greensboro.
\ Trying Ecstasy changed McCoy's life. Selling it became his vocation.
The first time was ``beautiful,'' he said. ```E' showed me something - that things aren't always the way I see them."
It was so good, he wanted to share the experience with friends.
```E' to me was a drug people should try because it gave you a different perspective on the world,'' he said. ``It takes away any inhibitions that you have. I have more self-confidence about doing things than I ever have in my whole life.''
But selling has a price. It cut him off from his family. He rarely talks to his parents.
He has been living at his grandparents' home. They have asked him to leave. Now, their relationship with their grandson is mainly a memory held in a basement bookcase in which they have collected athletic awards McCoy won throughout his school career.
There's a peewee football trophy, another for most improved player on the Salem High School football team, and a picture of McCoy as a youngster in his wrestling uniform. His senior class photo shows McCoy in black tuxedo and red bow tie. A broad smile flashes across his face.
Holding the photo, his grandmother says she and her husband were unaware McCoy was recently arrested in Roanoke. McCoy had told them he was a music promoter.
``I was a jewel in their eyes,'' McCoy said of his grandparents. ``Now, I don't know what they think.''
Despite his family's disappointment, McCoy kept selling. It afforded him a life in high-priced hotels and fancy restaurants.
``I was hooking my friends in Roanoke to live,'' he said. ``But then I went down to Greensboro and there's a market down there that you wouldn't believe.''
McCoy's business grew exponentially because he supplied pure, unadulterated Ecstasy, which he called ``slits,''rather than cutting his drug with another ingredient.
``There's a market out there, and why can't people have good Ecstasy?'' he asked.
McCoy quit his first semester at Virginia Western Community College, and sold Ecstasy full-time. McCoy gave some to friends and charged others up to $50 per pill.
During one month of dealing the drug in Greensboro, he made enough to live for three months without selling any more, he said.
``It's a whole lot harder than people think,'' McCoy said. ``Not everyone can be a drug dealer. There are certain things it takes - it takes more intelligence and knowledge about life ... to wake up and go to Florida, San Francisco, get there and get back carrying felonies on you without getting caught.''
McCoy said he's scared of going to jail. He said he's not proud of his selling days, but he has no regrets.
``I got to see everything,'' he said. ``But I don't trust a soul. ... My life was full-time stress when I was doing drugs.''
He turned his head of short-cropped blond hair to the side. A splash of shocking pink rose above his left ear. He looked down at the table and shrugged his shoulders.
``I ate phat and stayed at phat [excellent] hotels,'' he said, describing his high lifestyle. ``But you don't have peace on yourself. I want to not worry about cops.''
by CNB