ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 13, 1996 TAG: 9612130088
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
Surprise tests find drugs in parolees
RICHMOND - Sixty-three people on probation or parole have been sent back to jail after testing positive for drug use in a surprise test.
The state Department of Corrections summoned 344 parolees or probationers in the Richmond-Petersburg area to be tested Monday. Of the 235 who showed up, nearly 27 percent failed - primarily testing positive for cocaine and marijuana, said spokesman David Botkins.
Botkins said Wednesday that the department is tracking down the 109 who didn't show up for the test. ``That will continue for the next several days.''
The department gave the inmates it chose for testing 48 hours to report to their local probation and parole offices, but did not tell them why they were summoned.
``These were individuals who had a history of substance abuse,'' Botkins said. ``They were either unemployed, had prior positive tests or were suspected to have continuing substance abuse problems.''
The surprise test, called Operation Consequences, was the first unannounced drug test probationers and parolees in Virginia, said Corrections Director Ron Angelone. In the past, they were scheduled for tests long in advance.
Those arrested face hearings for violating parole or probation, Botkins said. Parolees also could be brought before the Virginia Parole Board.
Operation Consequences will not be a routine effort, but Botkins did not rule out a similar project in the future. The next round of surprise tests likely will be in another part of the state, he said.
- Associated Press
State trooper killed in crash
ASHLAND - A state trooper was killed early Thursday when his car crashed into a tree during a search for a suspected drunken driver.
Trooper Gregory Patton Fleenor, 30, finished his shift at 1 a.m. and was heading home when he heard on his radio that an undercover officer was trailing a drunken driver.
Fleenor radioed in that he would assist the undercover officer. A few minutes later, dispatchers received a report that Fleenor's cruiser had crashed on U.S. 1 about two miles north of Ashland, said state police information director Charlie Vaughan
Fleenor died at 1:14 a.m.
``Whether he ever located [the drunken driver] or not, I do not know,'' Vaughan said. The suspected drunken driver was never stopped or apprehended, he said.
There was no word Thursday on how fast Fleenor's car was traveling when the accident occurred.
- Associated Press
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