A 42-year-old man from Woodstock, Virginia, is facing drug trafficking charges involving the alleged sale of both cocaine and heroin. Prosecutors also claimed that he illegally transported a gun. He was arrested after a high-speed chase through Strasburg at speeds up to 90 mph and which resulted in a police vehicle being destroyed in an ensuing accident. News reports did not indicate what led to the initiation of the chase.
The defendant allegedly eluded police after the chase, and was not arrested until almost two weeks later. Undercover officer claimed that he was attempting to illegally buy weapons on the day of his arrest. In addition to federal charges, he is facing a number of state charges arising out of the high speed pursuit. Drug and weapon charges both carry severe possible penalties upon conviction, making the mounting of an adequate criminal defense imperative.
An affidavit filed by investigators in the case claimed the defendant said that he wanted to purchase a Glock gun from an undercover investigator in order to trade it for heroin. It also asserted that he made an admission about having sold heroin, but did not admit anything concerning alleged trafficking in cocaine. He was introduced to the undercover officer by a confidential informant.
Such informants are widely used by law enforcement in criminal investigations, including in the area of drug offenses. These informants are often facing various criminal charges themselves and may attempt to implicate others in crimes in order to gain leniency on pending charges. This may give some of them a motivation to lie or to attempt to entrap others into committing offenses they might not otherwise be involved in.
In this case, the gun that the defendant was accused of illegally transporting across state lines was a Glock presented to him for possible purchase by the undercover officer. In addition, there were other weapons made available. He was arrested after he supposedly selected the weapon for purchase and put it in his waistband.
Source:
NVDaily.com, “Strasburg chase defendant indicted” Joe Beck, Aug. 30, 2013
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