I CERTAINLY DIDN'T ENVISION [DRUG-RELATED CRIME] INTRUDING INTO THIS
NEIGHBORHOOD

Roanoke Police Make Dent In Stolen-Goods-For-Drugs Market

Police say they have shut down five alleged fencing operations, all in
homes in working-class neighborhoods in Roanoke.

Michelle and Andrew Whisnant never expected to be victims of a drug-related
crime.

Their Hunting Hills home in Southwest Roanoke County stands on the main
road through the neighborhood. At night, a gaslight illuminates their front
yard. They felt so safe that sometimes they didn't lock their cars at night.

"Obviously it's here," Michelle Whisnant said of drug-related crimes. "But
I certainly didn't envision it intruding into this neighborhood."

But one day just before dawn in May 1997, as the Whisnants and their three
children slept, burglars entered their home. Michelle Whisnant awoke to the
barking of her dog, Jenny. When she went downstairs, she found her VCR, TV,
compact disc player and camcorder gone. The family's Volkswagen Jetta had
been taken from the driveway.

The Whisnants later discovered that the burglars had used the
remote-control garage door opener from the unlocked Volkswagen to enter the
house.

The Whisnants joined 20 other victims whose property was taken from their
garage, home or cars in the last year. Their property was later found in
homes where police believe drug dealers had been accepting stolen property
in exchange for drugs -- mostly marijuana, but also cocaine and heroin.

Roanoke detectives didn't know about the Whisnants in December when they
began looking at one of the alleged fencing operations. Burglary Detective
Jerry Edmondson had a case in which three refrigerators, two ranges, a
dishwasher and an air conditioner had been taken from the North Ridge
Apartments in Northwest Roanoke. The suspect said he had exchanged the
stolen property for money at a residence in Southwest Roanoke that recently
had been the subject of allegations concerning illegal drug activity.

The police decided to move. Armed with a search warrant that for the first
time combined looking for stolen property and drugs, they hit the 4372
Bristol Road S.W. home of James Arthur Muse, who had recently been released
from federal prison on drug charges.

Detectives said they found $31,000 worth in stolen goods, plus some cocaine
and marijuana. Property found in the house included hundreds of phone
cards, appliances police say were taken from the North Ridge Apartments and
piles of clothing police believe were shoplifted from Roanoke stores.

The Bristol Road search showed police how involved a fencing operation
could be and became a primer for subsequent investigations.

Bristol Road "was a big discovery for us," Larceny Detective Curtis Davis
said. "We learned how things are stored, what to look for."

They also learned what questions to ask the confidential informants whose
tips form the basis for other search warrants. The informants outline how
the operations worked and provide a history of alleged illegal activity at
the homes. The burglary and larceny detectives combined their efforts with
vice detectives, who investigate drug crimes.

By the end of last month, police say, they had shut down five alleged
fencing operations, all in homes in working class neighborhoods in Roanoke.
One was across from Fallon Park Elementary School on 19th Street Southeast.
During their searches, detectives discovered riding lawn mowers, trolling
motors for boats, barbecues and chain saws -all items they believe had been
stolen in burglaries, car larcenies or shoplifting excursions.

"Sometimes the stolen property was stacked in closets, garages, living
rooms, kitchens -- every room of the house," said Roanoke Larceny Detective
Gerry Bingeman, who wrote many of the search warrant affidavits.

Detectives searched three homes in Southeast Roanoke -- a duplex at 1383
Buena Vista Blvd.; a home at 705 Montrose Ave. and a downstairs apartment
at 509 19th St. They also searched homes at 1610 10th St. N.W. and at 2106
Byrd Ave. N.E. In most, they reported finding stolen property and illegal
drugs. At the Montrose and Byrd avenue homes, detectives said they found
only a small amount of drugs and two items they believe were stolen.

Residents who lived near two of the alleged operations in Southeast Roanoke
say there was a constant flow of cars at all hours of the day and night.
Some said they turned a blind eye, particularly if they were not directly
affected.

"Back last summer, there was just a lot of traffic," said Donna Forrest,
who lives near one of the alleged fencing operations on Buena Vista
Boulevard Southeast. "They'd stay three to four minutes and leave. But I
just figured I didn't want to get involved."

Many of the break-ins and thefts occurred in or near the neighborhoods
where addicts and thieves traded the stolen property for drugs. The chain
saw, tools and fishing equipment taken from James Combs' outbuilding were
found only blocks from his home in Southeast Roanoke.

As the seven-month police investigation proceeded, the warrants became more
detailed about how the alleged enterprises operated. In all, police charged
eight men in connection with fencing and drug operations.

Muse was arrested on a federal probation violation but has not been charged
in connection with the search at his home, police said. He is serving a
two-year sentence in federal prison for the probation violation, but he has
appealed that sentence, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Peters.

Muse's attorney, Rickey Young, is fighting the seizure of the property
found at Muse's residence, contending that investigators have not proven
the property was stolen. Young said much of the property had been at Muse's
home since 1990.

The two-pronged warrants that allow police to search for drugs and stolen
property give police broad latitude to search the premises, some defense
lawyers said.

Ray Ferris, a former Roanoke prosecutor who is now a defense lawyer,
questioned the credibility of the police informants and wondered whether
these types of two-pronged warrants are tantamount to a blanket search of
the property and therefore violates the Fourth Amendment protection against
unreasonable search and seizure.

"By issuing one warrant, name one thing you can't look in or on for stolen
goods or drugs," Ferris said.

Police are undaunted. Drugs and stolen property can be hidden almost
anywhere in a residence, they said, so police should be given reasonable
means to search for them.

The search warrants speak for themselves, Davis said. In the majority of
those searches, detectives retrieved item after item of stolen property,
some of which has been returned to its owners.

"It's the overall picture of what you have," Davis said. "Read the search
warrant. Read the seizure list, and I think we've justified it."

Ferris agreed that if the searches are upheld and the arrests stick, the
real proof will be on the street and in a decrease in property crimes.

"If you're able to stop the fencing operation, it decreases the incentive
to break into homes," Ferris said. "You cut off the fencing and drug
sources and you're going to see a significant decrease in the number of
break-ins for the immediate future."

The stolen goods-for-drugs market isn't new. In this low-end of the drug
world, longtime addicts will barter just about anything to attain their
next high. Police said the dealers are not big-time but are consistent
distributors who move a steady stream of drugs and make a good living from
them.

But gaining entry into that world has been difficult because it is built on
petty crimes, many of which are never reported by victims. Even when
victims do report the crimes, they often have neglected to mark their
property or record serial numbers.

The Whisnants had not marked their property. But they were lucky.

When police searched the Bristol Road residence, they found a camcorder
containing a videotape of the Whisnants' daughter's gymnastics recital.
Detectives found the Whisnants after calling the gymnastics academy. The
couple identified the remainder of their items after police led them
through a room stacked with stolen property. Police identified the
Whisnants' property by checking with the descriptions they gave officers
after the burglary. Their car was found several days after the burglary,
only a few miles from their home.

The Whisnants' property was part of the $109.2 million in stolen property
recovered in Virginia last year, nearly half the value of all property
stolen in the state.

While police say the stolen goods-for-drugs trade has been a part of the
drug market for years, Virginia State Police and local agencies do not
track how successful they are at targeting the operations.

Police urge residents to mark their property, videotape it and record
serial numbers. More importantly, property crimes, no matter how small,
should be reported. Without a victim, found property is next to impossible
to trace to its owners.

In the end, what detectives want is to curtail the property crimes that
plague neighborhoods in the Roanoke Valley. For every drug transaction,
Davis said, there may have been three or four other crimes committed.

The result of the police investigation was apparent to Davis. He went on
vacation for a week and came back to find only two offense reports in his
box.

"Basically, you disorient [the criminals]," Davis said. "Now, it's just
dismantling their operations."

Roanoke residents who believe they have been a victim of a property crime
should call Roanoke police at 853-2571.