ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 1997 TAG: 9703040073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER
A Botetourt County sheriff's deputy apparently spooked whoever was supposed to pick up a drug shipment early Monday, leaving the sheriff's office with roughly 220 pounds of marijuana.
Sheriff Reed Kelly said a deputy on patrol about 2 a.m. saw a fitted bed sheet covering something at the north end of the parking lot at the Mountainview Mall in Troutville. Upon investigation, he discovered four large duffle bags filled with what appeared to be marijuana.
The deputy notified the sheriff, and they staked out the area, thinking a pickup would be made. No pickup had been attempted by 8 a.m., Kelly said
It's possible, Kelly said, that whoever was to make the pickup saw the deputy investigating and didn't return to the scene.
"This was the biggest amount I've seen in a long time," Kelly said. He estimated the pot, which was compressed into blocks and wrapped several times, was worth $1,000 to $1,200 a pound. By the time the marijuana would have hit the street, the sheriff said, it would have been worth three or four times that amount.
Although the department hadn't made any arrests late Monday, "we think we know where [the drugs] originated," Kelly said.
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