UNDERCOVER OFFICERS ARREST 4 DURING TRAINING

An undercover operations class for Roanoke and Roanoke County police
officers this week resulted in four actual arrests for prostitution and
drug possession charges, officials said.

Instead of using fake cases to practice the skills they learned in "Basic
Undercover Operations," 10 officers held practical exercises on the streets
of Roanoke on Thursday, said Roanoke police Lt. Bill Althoff. Four people
were arrested and seven criminal charges were placed, five for prostitution
and two for drug possession, Althoff said.

The class was designed to teach experienced officers how to conduct vice
and narcotic investigations in plain clothes or disguise, said Althoff.
Experienced undercover detectives and supervisors certified by the State
Department of Criminal Justice Services taught the class, which began with
three classroom learning days Monday through Wednesday. Instructors served
as guides and observers during Thursday's practical exercises, Althoff
said, and the students held mock trials Friday.

Althoff said the Roanoke Police Academy will conduct the classes on
unannounced dates in the future. Officers who complete the class can assist
existing undercover operations units in their jurisdictions, he said.

Man arrested, charged with abduction

of woman from N.W. Roanoke apartment

A Southwest Roanoke man was arrested Thursday after police say he entered a
woman's apartment in the night, bound her and forced her outside.

Police arrived in the 500 block of Harrison Avenue Northwest about 5:30
p.m. in response to a report of a woman screaming, said Roanoke police Lt.
Bill Althoff. A resident of the apartment building told police she had seen
a man force her neighbor out of her apartment.

Police found a man and woman near the side door of the apartment building
and detained them, Althoff said. The 28-year-old woman told police she had
been asleep in her apartment when a man she did not know pulled her out of
bed, bound her mouth and hands with tape and pulled her out of the
building, Althoff said. He said a roll of tape was recovered by police near
the side door where the two were detained.

Mark Anthony Prince, 34, of the 1500 block of Bluemont Avenue Southwest was
charged with abduction, Althoff said. Prince was being held without bond in
the Roanoke City Jail on Friday.

Police did not identify the woman because of the nature of the crime.
Althoff said she did not require medical attention and there was no
evidence of force being used to open her apartment door.