THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 27, 1996 TAG: 9605270029
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: 76 lines
A two-day sting operation called Cops In Shops ended Sunday with 49 arrests on charges ranging from driving without a license to the sale of cocaine.
Agents from the state Alcohol Law Enforcement agency, the Dare County Sheriff's Department, Dare County Alcoholic Beverage Enforcement and the Kill Devil Hills Police Department posed undercover at Red Apple markets in Kill Devil Hills and Manteo.
The alleged offenders were given citations ranging from $25 to $85, or taken into custody.
A Kill Devil Hills man was arrested early Sunday morning in the parking lot of the convenience store at Colington Road and the Bypass highway and was charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine.
Thomas Wilson Williams IV, age unknown, was held on $5,000 bond.
Two other suspects were arrested and charged with possession of the substance. Authorities said the two men had just purchased cocaine from Williams. John Richard Godfrey of Columbia, S.C., and William Wilson Hood III of Kill Devil Hills were charged with possession of cocaine; Hood, as well, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver.
The incident occurred at about 2 a.m., when agents of the state Alcohol Law Enforcement division allegedly saw the suspects engaged in a drug transaction.
``The officers saw the transaction, and approached the suspect,'' ALE Agent Jimmy Pierce said. ``They arrested him and discovered cocaine and a undetermined amount of cash.''
For ALE officers, it was also one of the first major enforcement actions of two new state laws which went into effect last October.
The first is a change in North Carolina's open container law. If a driver transporting passengers has consumed alcohol, and there is an open alcoholic beverage container in the vehicle, the driver can be charged.
``In the past, a driver could be consuming alcohol while behind the wheel, but once we tried to pull him over, he could give the container to a passenger, and there was nothing we could do,'' Pierce said. ``The new law puts a stop to that.''
The other law makes it illegal for drivers age 21 and younger to consume any amount of alcohol, and operate a vehicle. Previously the law applied only to drivers ages 16 and 17.For the operation, which started last Friday night, officers divided into three teams. One group worked in the stores, posing as employees. A second group was stationed in the parking lots of the stores. A third group was placed at varying locations along U.S. Route 158 and North Carolina Route 12, to apprehend offenders who attempted to escape into the teeming stream of holiday traffic.
Pat Forbis, assistant district supervisor for ALE, termed the effort a success.
``I'm very pleased,'' Forbis said. ``I think we did something that was extremely proactive in trying to get intoxicated drivers off the road. We took great pains to make sure everything was done right. It was an overall success.''
Forbis said the number of stops and arrests decreased Saturday night.
``We were busier Friday night than we were Saturday,'' Forbis said. ``I think part of the reason for that is on Friday, we had a lot of incoming traffic to this area. Saturday night, it was a little more settled. Also, it may have been that the word got around that we were out, and that may have settled things down.''
Forbis believes the Dare County operation, similar to other efforts throughout the state, made highways safer.
``We got some dangerous folks off the street,'' said Forbis.
Agents said that while the operation was fruitful, it required patience.
``The toughest part of this is waiting for something to happen,'' Agent Chris Waters, 23, of Durham said, while sitting at the ready in his unmarked car off Colington Road. ``It's like fishing. You may go all night long and not get a bite. But I guess that's good.''
The Cops In Shops effort in Dare County is the latest of similar efforts conducted throughout the state by ALE, in cooperation with local law enforcement.
KEYWORDS: STING DRUG ARREST OPERATION COPS IN SHOPS by CNB