BARRY'S CAR TIED TO DRUG RESIDUE

Not Enough of Substances to Build a Case, Police Say

U.S. Park Police, using a preliminary field test, found apparent traces of
marijuana and cocaine in former D.C. mayor Marion Barry's car while he was
parked in a remote part of Southwest Washington, authorities said last night.

No arrest was made in the incident, which began about 9 p.m. Thursday in
the Buzzard Point area as Barry sat in a Jaguar, which he told police was
his. The amounts of drugs allegedly detected in a police field test were
described as too small to support a prosecution.

Barry's attorney, Fred Cooke Jr., said last night that Barry "denies being
in the possession of any illegal drugs."

He said Barry -- who could not be reached for comment -- consented to the
search because "he didn't have anything to hide." Cooke said that, in
Barry's view, the search confirmed that nothing illegal was found, so he
was allowed to leave.

Cooke also said that many things yield a positive result on the field test
for drugs, which is why it is generally only a precursor to laboratory
testing. For example, residue picked up on the soles of shoes could adhere
to the floor of a car, he said.

Barry, 66, was convicted of a misdemeanor count of cocaine possession after
being arrested in 1990 in a downtown hotel. He has subsequently said on
many occasions that he is drug and alcohol free, and he recently announced
that he would seek to return to public life by running for an at-large D.C.
Council seat this year.

Sgt. Scott Fear, a Park Police spokesman, said the Thursday encounter began
when an officer responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle in a
no-parking zone in the Buzzard Point area.

After the officer walked toward the parked car, he saw that the occupant
appeared to be "ingesting something," Fear said.

The officer asked the occupant -- who turned out to be the former mayor --
for his license and registration, Fear said.

The officer noticed a "powdery substance" under Barry's nose, according to
Fear's account. A supervisor was notified, and police asked that a dog
trained to detect drugs be brought to the scene. Barry was asked to step
out of the car, Fear said.

He said that the dog "alerted," or "hit positive," on something in the car,
indicating that it had probably detected illicit materials.

A field test was done on the interior of the car, and it indicated positive
for "residues" of marijuana and cocaine, the Park Police spokesman said.

The exact amount of suspect materials was not specified. But Fear said that
it was deemed so small that police did not make an arrest. Barry was
permitted to leave.

No test was made of the powder reportedly observed under Barry's nose, Fear
said.

He said the procedures followed by police would have been used in an
encounter with any other person.

Barry, a longtime civic activist, probably remains the city's best- known
local political figure.

In announcing March 6 that he planned to run for the D.C. Council, Barry
said he hoped to return to "my calling" of public office.

He was an at-large council member from 1975 to 1979. He was mayor from 1979
to 1991, when he declined to seek reelection after his videotaped drug
arrest at the hotel the year before.

After serving prison time for his misdemeanor conviction, he returned to
politics in 1992 by winning a seat on the council, representing Ward 8.

Two years later, Barry stunned the nation by winning back his job as mayor.

When Barry announced that he would run again for the council, he said he
was free of the substance-abuse problems that led to his downfall 12 years ago.

"It's great waking up in the morning, clean and sober," he said.

Staff writer Ruben Castaneda contributed to this report.