ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997 TAG: 9702270025
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
A 74-year-old Christiansburg man out on bond for drug charges was arrested on charges of selling crack cocaine Tuesday.
A Montgomery County Drug Task Force member said William Bernice Smith was arrested on charges of distribution of crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of marijuana.
Smith's arrest was the result of a search warrant that task force members served at Smith's current home on Radford Road.
Smith and his drug activity are not new to the task force.
Police arrested Smith and his wife Aug. 28 on selling cocaine and firearms charges while they lived in another Christiansburg neighborhood. Smith's criminal history also includes a 1992 conviction for distribution of cocaine and a 1985 manslaughter conviction. His wife, 59-year-old Josephine Price Smith, died from complications of diabetes before her case went to trial. Bernice Smith, as he is known to friends, also has yet to go to trial on the August charges. His trial is set for June 20.
During the raid on the Smith home in August, the task force seized two vehicles, $7,900 in cash and two guns. Smith's recent arrest resulted in the seizure of about $1,800, a task force member said.
The task force also arrested two Christiansburg women during Tuesday's search, including one wanted in Richmond.
Dawn Burkes Pryor, 37, was arrested on a charge of possession of cocaine. After her arrest, according to a task force member, police discovered that Richmond police had a warrant for Pryor's arrest for violating probation and parole.
Police also arrested Tina Sherman Richmond, 31, on a charge of distribution of crack cocaine.
Smith and Pryor are being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond. Sherman also remains in jail, but her bond was set at $40,000.
Earlier this month, the task force served two search warrants at a Blacksburg motel and arrested a Christiansburg woman and a Roanoke man on drug charges. The man was awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge after being released in August from federal prison where he served more than four years for unrelated drug and firearms charges.
Police arrested Thomas Herman Jones, 27, Feb. 10 on one count of possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it.
Just 10 days later, Jones accepted a plea agreement in a Roanoke court where he was to be tried on first-degree murder charges. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder for the shooting death of a man in 1991 and was sentenced to seven years in prison. The murder was the result of a drug-related argument, Roanoke police said.
Jones is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.
Police also arrested Tomica Joe Hubbard, 23, during the Blacksburg search of the Red Carpet Inn, formerly the Imperial Motor Lodge, at 1615 S. Main St. Hubbard has been charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana.
A task force member said police seized 14 grams of crack during the search, which has a street value of about $1,400, and nearly $900 in cash.
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