Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 22, 1993 TAG: 9307220086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
General District Judge John L. Apostolou said the checkpoint was an appropriate tool in the interdiction of illegal drugs.
But a 20-year-old woman fined $100 for possession of marijuana said she would carry her constitutional challenge of the drug checkpoint to Roanoke County Circuit Court.
"I'll take it at least that far," said Lori Dawn Shanklin of Charlotte, N.C.
Shanklin is the only defendant who has taken issue with the roadblock that Roanoke County police set up at the Dixie Caverns exit off I-81. Three other defendants have pleaded guilty and been fined for misdemeanor marijuana possession.
On May 6, police placed two flashing signs a half-mile before the Dixie Caverns exit on northbound I-81 that warned motorists, "Police Drug Search Ahead." But there was no roadblock on the interstate. Instead, police were waiting on the exit ramp.
Sgt. R.C. Mason, head of the county's vice unit, testified Tuesday that officers followed the same procedures that courts have approved for sobriety checkpoints.
To avoid charges that police singled out certain individuals, all drivers were asked for permission to search their cars, Mason said.
But Shanklin's attorney argued that the drug checkpoint failed to meet legal standards that courts have set for sobriety roadblocks.
Melvin Hill, a former regional drug prosecutor now in private practice, argued that the drug checkpoint was far more intrusive than sobriety roadblocks, at which motorists are detained only if officers smell alcohol.
At Dixie Caverns, each driver was stopped for several minutes while officers went through the car and its contents.
"You're talking about a significant intrusion on someone's privacy," Hill said.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Leach replied that any motorist could have avoided a delay simply by refusing to consent to a search.
Shanklin agreed to a search - as did 105 of the 107 motorists who were stopped.
After Apostolou ruled that the checkpoint was legal, Shanklin was found guilty of possessing marijuana. The judge fined her $100, gave her a 10-day suspended jail sentence and suspended her driver's license for 60 days - an automatic penalty in all drug cases.
Hill noted his intent to appeal.
Outside the courtroom, Shanklin said she pulled up to the checkpoint with the mistaken impression that she had no choice but to let police search her car. Officers found a small amount of marijuana in a backpack.
"I didn't know the law," she said.
Another defendant who pleaded guilty to the same charge last month said police waste their time with drug checkpoints.
"These stops don't deter people from using drugs," he said. "They just deter people from letting police search their cars."
Mason would not rule out future drug checkpoints.
"We had enough things go right with this one that I would like to try it again," he said.
by CNB