ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996                  TAG: 9605020035
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: NARROWS
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER AND TRACY GALLIMORE STAFF WRITERS 

SPEEDING STOP LEADS TO DRUG BUST IN NARROWS

Narrows police arrested two men early Wednesday after finding more than 5 pounds of marijuana in their car, only to learn that the pair is the subject of a federal drug investigation.

Federal authorities asked that the names of the two men not be made public, saying it would hamper the investigation. The driver of the car was being held at the Giles County jail in Pearisburg under a $10,000 bond, and a passenger under a $7,500 bond.

Narrows police Officer Mike Weiss pulled the car over shortly after 2 a.m. for going 17 miles over the 40 mph speed limit on U.S. 460 in the town limits. The men's actions made him suspicious that there might be drugs in the vehicle, and he called Pearisburg Officer Roger Fisher to bring his narcotics-sniffing dog, Murphy.

Mark Skidmore, evidence technician for the Giles County Sheriff's Office, was called to help search the vehicle and to process any evidence.

The two men gave their permission for the search, Skidmore said. Murphy, a Labrador retriever, located the marijuana hidden in the car.

Police also found a loaded semiautomatic pistol and an undisclosed amount of cash. The pistol was in a center console between the front seats of the vehicle, within in easy reach of both occupants.

Both men are charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 5 pounds of marijuana, and having a concealed weapon.

Weiss said the driver also was charged with possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony, driving with a suspended driver's license, "and my favorite - speeding."

Asked what made him suspicious of the pair, Weiss said that was on the list of things he had been asked not to describe. He also declined to say how much more than 5 pounds of marijuana was found in the car.

"It's a lot of marijuana," Skidmore said, but not a sensational amount.

Giles County authorities and state police arrested two men in March and seized 12 pounds of marijuana in an unrelated undercover investigation.

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