MAN GETS 2 YEARS FOR HEROIN SALE

The 21-Year-Old Sold The Drug To Two WSLS (Channel 10) Meteorologists

A man who sold heroin to two WSLS (Channel 10) meteorologists was
sentenced Monday to two years in prison, a much better deal than the
life sentence he originally faced.

Gilbert Dennis Hadden, 21, pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy and
distribution of heroin after a lack of evidence saved him from an
earlier charge of causing serious bodily injury or death.

"You have flown very close to what could have been a terrible
tragedy," said U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Wilson.

The bodily injury charge stemmed from the near-fatal overdose by
former weatherman Marc Lamarre at a South Roanoke duplex in February.
Lamarre has since left WSLS.

According to prosecutors, Hadden supplied heroin to Chad Rhudolph
Honaker, 33, who then sold it to Lamarre at a party at the duplex
that night. After buying the drugs, Lamarre disappeared into the
bathroom twice and complained of stomach problems before collapsing
and striking his head on a computer desk, said prosecutor Don Wolthuis.

But witnesses said another friend had given Lamarre some Lortab, a
prescription painkiller, before he got the heroin, Wolthuis said.

Despite evidence that Lamarre bought heroin at the party, tests later
turned up no heroin in his system. Other evidence indicated he may
have overdosed on the prescription drugs Lortab and Xanax instead,
officials said.

The day after Lamarre's collapse, Honaker admitted his role in the
case to police and agreed to trap Hadden by calling him and arranging
more heroin transactions, officials said.

Current WSLS meteorologist Jamey Singleton later publicly admitted
that he, too, had been addicted to heroin. Singleton was not at the
house with his friend and co-worker the night of the overdose, and
neither Lamarre nor Singleton was charged in the case.

Honaker pleaded guilty along with Hadden to the same charges in
August. He was scheduled to be sentenced Monday, but his attorney
requested a continuance to reply to two last-minute motions filed by Wolthuis.

On Monday, Wilson told Hadden that he clearly had a difficult
upbringing. His parents were both crack addicts and he grew up in the
projects in Michigan, practically raising himself.

But Wilson said Hadden has the rest of his life in front of him.

"I have given you the benefit that you're going to make something of
your life from here on out," Wilson said.

Roanoke attorney David Damico, who represented Hadden, said the case
and all the publicity has been "upsetting and embarrassing" for his client.

"This has been a wake-up call for him," Damico said.