Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 16, 1994 TAG: 9401160161
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short
A Charlottesville grand jury late last year indicted 24 people on 31 counts of distributing crack cocaine. Police arrested 19 men and one woman Friday, while four suspects were still at large Saturday, Charlottesville Police Lt. Clyde Snoddy said.
Detective G.Q. Fields of the Joint Narcotics Unit said agents made most of the undercover drug purchases in the Prospect Avenue-Oak Ridge Gardens area, buying anywhere from $20 to $300 worth of cocaine at a time.
The arrests came less than one week after the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old girl caught in the cross fire of what Charlottesville police said was a drug-related shooting.
Sharon D. Turner lived in the neighborhood where the arrests took place. After her death, residents called for increased police action.
However, Fields said Friday's roundup was not the result of community pressure. Undercover agents began the operation in August and set the date for the arrests long ago, he said.
Fields said the 20 arrested suspects were being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Joint Security Complex, with bonds ranging from $5,000 to $150,000.
The Joint Narcotics Unit is composed of officers from the Charlottesville, Albemarle County and University of Virginia police departments and the state police.
by CNB