JAIL, NOT BAIL FOR FIRST TWO SUSPECTS IN ECSTACY BUST

NORFOLK -- A federal judge ordered two suspects in a major Ecstasy ring
jailed without bail Tuesday after one was described as a longtime drug and
alcohol abuser and the other a drifter with no job and no strong local
family ties.

Charles Atilla Bacs, 31, and Daniel Heath Hansen, 27, each face at least 10
years in federal prison if convicted. Hansen is charged with 12 counts of
conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy. Bacs faces three counts of related charges.

The third suspect and alleged ringleader, Tim Douros, 38, will have his
bail hearing today. They were arrested last week after a lengthy
investigation into the sale of Ecstasy at nightclubs where Douros held
raves, or dance parties.

Since the arrests, attorneys have been pointing fingers at each other's
clients.

Douros' lawyer, Andrew Sacks, said last week that his client was guilty
only of associating with the wrong people.

"I would disagree with that assessment," Mark T. Del Duca, Bac's attorney,
said Tuesday. "Everybody has their own theory of the case."

Hansen's lawyer was not available after Tuesday's hearing.

At the hearing in U.S. District Court, Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller and
the federal prosecutor reviewed evidence against the trio, including a
confession by Hansen and video and audio recordings of the drug sales. The
prosecutor said agents recorded Hansen and Bacs selling 500 Ecstasy gel
tablets to an undercover federal officer for $6,000. Prosecutors allege at
least eight undercover sales worth thousands of dollars.

"It's a very, very, very strong case," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura
P. Tayman.

The judge heard about Bacs' 14 years of drug and alcohol problems,
including convictions for driving under the influence, public drunkenness
and disorderly conduct. Bacs also admitted to a pretrial court official
that he used marijuana, cocaine and possibly Ecstasy even after he was
arrested Nov. 30 in Virginia Beach on related drug charges. He also told
the official that he has taken three to four Ecstasy tablets each weekend
for the past two years.

"Apparently, he enjoys his substance abuse," Miller said.

Hansen was described in court as a drifter and former Navy sailor with only
a grandmother living in the area. In asking for bail, he told the court he
would be supervised by a bartender from The Beach House, one of the clubs
named in the indictment as being a center for Ecstasy sales.

"It's very possibly one of the hottest Ecstasy spots in Virginia Beach,"
Tayman told the court.

Kendall Davies, owner of The Beach House, has said he attended dance
parties that Douros promoted and never saw any drug sales.