ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, September 13, 1996 TAG: 9609130156
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Below
MEMO: NOTE: Ran on B-1 in Metro edition.
A special agent's tip led to two men's arrest outside Franklin County, where, their lawyer says, moonshine isn't seen as a big deal.
Rocky Mount lawyer Bill Davis says it's a clear sign that the good old days of moonshining are over: A special agent turned into an anonymous tipster to get two Franklin County men arrested in another jurisdiction for hauling bootleg liquor.
Davis, who has represented his share of moonshiners over the years, says there used to be a gentlemen's agreement between bootleggers and law enforcement:
Moonshiners wouldn't be arrested unless they were caught red-handed by the agents.
Davis says he started hearing complaints from moonshiners several years ago about apparent changes in the agreement. One man facing moonshine charges was agitated when he was caught by an agent using binoculars.
"It ain't fair," Davis remembers the man saying. "They didn't see me with the naked eye."
The recent arrests of three members of the well-known Stanley family of Rocky Mount blew the old-time agreement to bits.
Davis is the attorney for the Stanleys - a family that received notoriety earlier this year for being arrested three times in two weeks and charged with hauling moonshine.
Brothers Jason and Scott Stanley were stopped in Frederick County on Feb. 21 by a police officer who noticed that their vehicle was weaving back and forth on Interstate 81. A week later, the brothers were arrested in Shenandoah County and again charged with transporting moonshine after the state police received an anonymous tip.
Then, acting on another anonymous tip, a state trooper arrested Jason Stanley and his father, William Gray "Dee" Stanley, in Albemarle County March 6 for hauling illegal liquor.
In the three arrests, more than 400 gallons of moonshine were seized.
Jason Stanley, 22, has since been convicted of moonshine charges in each of the counties. Scott Stanley, 25, has been convicted of moonshine charges in Shenandoah County and an unrelated charge in Frederick County. They've both been sentenced to jail time and fines.
Dee Stanley, who's made a name for himself in Franklin County for his moonshining exploits over the years, was acquitted by an Albemarle County judge Wednesday mainly because he wasn't driving the vehicle loaded with liquor.
"My client believes in the criminal justice system and his lawyer," Davis says of Dee Stanley, 50.
Davis has appealed the Shenandoah County convictions of Jason and Scott Stanley, and has filed a petition to present new evidence in Jason Stanley's Albemarle County case.
Davis found out that Jimmy Beheler, the state agent who heads the moonshine task force in Franklin County, is the tipster who called authorities in Shenandoah County in February and relayed information that led to the arrests of Jason and Scott Stanley.
Davis got a copy of the 911 tape that contained the tip about the Stanleys and, after asking several people to listen to it, deduced that it was Beheler's voice. After Davis approached Beheler and the agent denied that he was the tipster, the issue was introduced in court in Shenandoah County.
On the witness stand, Beheler confirmed that the voice on the tape was his.
Asked by Davis why he hadn't told the truth previously, Beheler said, "I was not under oath when I talked with you earlier," according to the new evidence petition filed by Davis in Albemarle County General District Court.
"I am not obligated to give any details of any investigation to any defense attorney" outside the courtroom, Beheler said in an interview Thursday.
The petition says that Beheler was the tipster in Albemarle County, too.
Davis says he believes that the police didn't have probable cause to stop the Stanleys' vehicle in Shenandoah or Albemarle counties because Beheler wasn't absolutely sure the Stanleys were hauling moonshine.
Davis also says that, on looking at the evidence, it appears that the moonshine agents orchestrated a plan to get the Stanleys arrested outside Franklin County, where moonshining historically hasn't been viewed as a serious crime.
Beheler says there's no truth to Davis' theory.
The agent says he hopes to tell his side of the story, but he's not at liberty to discuss it now because of state policies that regulate what its employees can say to the media.
The director of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Department could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Davis said Albemarle County General District Judge Stephen Helvin did not hear the new evidence petition Wednesday, but the judge plans to research areas of the law that relate to tipsters and will rule on the petition at a later date.
LENGTH: Medium: 92 linesby CNB