
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 8, 1990                   TAG: 9005080719
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE DRUGS ONTO PLANE GETS TEEN PROBATION

A Roanoke teen-ager who tried to sneak a tinfoil-wrapped parcel of drugs through a metal detector at Roanoke Regional Airport was placed on probation for four years today in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.

Harold E. Cunningham, 18, has been in federal prison since his arrest last October. Judge James Turk ordered Cunningham released today, prompting shouts of joy from family members in the courtroom.

In December, Cunningham, then a student at William Fleming High School, pleaded guilty to cocaine conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute. He was arrested at the airport Oct. 4 after he triggered an alarm when he walked through a metal detector with about 4 ounces of cocaine wrapped in metal foil and strapped to his waist under his clothes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bondurant asked that Cunningham not receive any further jail time, given his "lack of criminal background" and that he had cooperated with authorities in other drug cases.

"The crime could be characterized as stupid," Bondurant said. "But unlike so many of the people you've seen here lately, Cunningham does have a chance to turn his life around."

At an earlier hearing, Cunningham testified that a man forced him to smuggle contraband through airport security. Cunningham testified that the plan was for him to get the cocaine through a metal detector and then return it to the man in the men's restroom before they boarded a flight for Charlotte, N.C.

Turk asked Cunningham today how he got involved in the scheme.

"Running with the wrong crowd, I guess," he said.

by CNB