EPISCOPAL PRIEST FACES NEW DRUG POSSESSION CHARGE

An Episcopal priest arrested in Virginia earlier this year on charges of
possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines was arrested Tuesday
in Maryland on similar charges.

Police say they found methamphetamine and other drugs worth as much as
$10,000 in the rectory at St. Bartholomew's Protestant Episcopal Church in
Laytonsville, Md., when they arrested the Rev. Travers C. Koerner, 55, the
Washington Times reported.

He has been charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled
dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and
possession of drug paraphernalia, the Washington Post reported.

Authorities suspect Koerner -- who is scheduled to stand trial Nov. 14 for
the earlier arrest (in March) of being both a drug distributor and user.

Koerner has been placed on administrative leave by the Episcopal Diocese of
Washington and may face additional disciplinary action pending the outcome
of the criminal charges, spokeswoman Daphne Gerig said.

A judge set Koerner's bond at $2 million, stipulating that the clergyman
pay the entire amount instead of the customary 10 percent.