On April 25, 2012, a Buchanan County Grand Jury returned a total of 164 sealed drug indictments against 49 defendants. Included in these indictments were six defendants who have prior convictions for drug distribution. Buchanan County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald Arrington explained that “where an individual has a prior conviction for drug distribution, a second or subsequent offense carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, whereas a first time offender only faces a maximum sentence of forty years for each charge. Because of this enhanced sentence range, my staff and I worked diligently to ensure that whenever possible the indictments reflected the defendant’s prior conviction.”
Arrington also commented that “one of the campaign promises that I made was that if elected, I would work with our drug task force to seek out repeat offenders and I certainly feel that we were able to accomplish that today.” The April 2012 Grand Jury returned more indictments than any other grand jury in the past five years. After meeting on two separate occasions, this grand jury returned a total of 452 true bills against 92 different defendants. When asked for comment, Arrington said “My staff and I have been very busy since taking office in January and these statistics certainly prove it. While grand juries typically only met once every three months in the past, in the four months that I have been in office, this was the fourth meeting of the grand jury.”
Arrington went on to praise the hard work of members of the drug task force, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, and Virginia State Police stating that “these brave men and women work very hard to ensure the safety of our community.” Arrington also thanked his staff for their hard and noted “that their hard work often goes unnoticed but that the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office plays an integral role in the fight against drugs. My staff and I work closely with law enforcement to develop informants, obtain financial records and other evidence, write search warrants, and so on. In fact, one of my senior prosecutors accompanied police during today’s raid to assist with legal questions that often arise as well as to help ensure that any searches and seizures are constitutionally valid.”
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On May 7, 2012, the following were arraigned in the Buchanan County Circuit Court and were denied bond as a result of the Commonwealth’s objection unless otherwise noted.
Ruby Grizzle
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Conspiracy to Distribute a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Jennifer Rayburn
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Conspiracy to Distribute a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Tiffany Justus
– 1 ct of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 1 ct of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Angie Tester
– 1 ct of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 1 ct of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Bradley Martin Christian
– Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
Craig Douglas Howell – ($ 30,000 secured bond)
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Rocky Allen Ward
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Distribute a Schedule IV Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Benny Lee Hurley
– 5 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 4 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
– 1 ct of Conspiracy to Distribute a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
Joshua Stacy
– Distribution of a Schedule IV Controlled Substance
– Petit Larceny
Vinson Slone
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule III Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Mitchell Grizzle
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Conspiracy to Distribute a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Kerry Russell Taylor
– 3 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 3 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Donnie Hurley
– 3 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 3 cts of Conspiracy to Distribute a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Ronald Terry Dotson
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Danny Carl Stiltner
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Distribute a Schedule IV Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Earl May
– Distribution of a Schedule III Controlled Substance
– Maintaining a Common Nuisance
William Hensley
– Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance, 3rd or subsequent offense
– Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Johnny Lee Dotson
– Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance, 3rd or subsequent offense
Rockie Irland Hensley
– Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance, 3rd or subsequent offense
– Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Derrick “Neil” May
– Distribution of a Schedule III Controlled Substance
– Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Kenneth Ray McClanahan
– Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance, 3rd or subsequent offense
– Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Timothy Greg Allen
– 2 cts of Distribution of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance
– 2 cts of Maintaining a Common Nuisance
– 2 cts of Possession of a Firearm While in Possession of Schedule I/II Controlled Substance