ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
A fugitive wanted by the FBI on felony drug charges was arrested Thursday in Forest after a two-hour standoff.
David William Falwell, 28, of Forest was arrested about 3:45 p.m., two hours and 45 minutes after the Bedford County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous tip that Falwell was at a town house on Goose Ridge Drive, the Sheriff's Office said.
The FBI, State Police Drug Task Force and Lynchburg Police Tactical Unit also responded.
When officers arrived, the residence's doors were locked, the blinds were shut and no one would respond, said Lt. John McCane of the Sheriff's Office.
Police had information that Falwell frequently carried weapons, so they evacuated about a dozen neighbors and blocked entry into the complex as a precaution, McCane said.
After two hours, Falwell answered the telephone and was persuaded by FBI agents to surrender.
Police found no weapons or drugs at the scene, and no shots were fired during the standoff, the Sheriff's Office said.
"Basically, once phone contact was established, it diffused itself," McCane said.
Falwell was taken to the federal magistrate in Roanoke.
He had been a fugitive since a July drug sweep in Campbell County that resulted in 11 arrests and seizure of a large quantity of crack cocaine as well as vehicles and other property, McCane said.
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