Pubdate: Sun, 18 May 2014 Source: Daily Press (Newport News,VA) Copyright: 2014 The Daily Press Contact: http://www.dailypress.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/585 Author: Michael Welles Shapiro SPICE SELLERS UNDISTURBED IN NEWPORT NEWS, HAMPTON Police Mum on Potential Investigations NEWPORT NEWS -- If you listen to the U.S. Navy, Newport News and Hampton are problem cities for the retail sale of spice. But unlike nearby counties the two cities haven't raided stores that sell spice, which a local prosecutor and a defense attorney both say has everything to do with a state statute that makes convictions tricky. There's one standard for sailors and another one -- a higher one -- for a prosecutor seeking a conviction, said Anton Bell, Hampton's commonwealth's attorney. Bell said spice manufacturers have managed to stay a step ahead of police and prosecutors in Virginia, because they can tweak the chemical makeup of what they sell so that it becomes slightly different from the drug as defined under state statute. Lawmakers can theoretically update their definitions every year when they meet for several months, but then the overseas manufacturers have the rest of the year to adapt and ship a slightly refined product to the commonwealth. Spice cases are "very defendable in the state setting because the manufacturers stay ahead of the legislature," said Shawn Cline, a Newport News native with a defense practice with offices in Hampton and Virginia Beach. "I did two (spice cases) in Isle of Wight today," he said during a recent interview. "It was the same charge and they're both dismissed." Cline described a scenario he said he comes across frequently. "The officers will seize what they think is spice in common parlance," he said. They will send the drug to a lab, and time after time, "it comes back as negative for spice." "The problem with the code section is they can't keep up with the science ... they only change the statute annually." A law that takes effect July 1 is intended to change that. Whether it will work remains to be seen. And federal law does give police and prosecutors tools to go after stores that sell spice. In Gloucester and Middlesex counties joint local-state-federal law enforcement raids have closed four shops and led to 29 arrests. But stores on the Navy's off-limits list, including Hampton Pipe and Tobacco stores in both Newport News and Hampton, remain open. Police departments in both cities declined to say if they are considering similar joint local-federal raids on stores suspected of selling spice. Both departments declined to let a reporter interview the officials in each city who oversee drug investigations. Newport News Police spokesman Lou Thurston said "we have not made any 'retailer' arrests for spice, etc. in quite some time," but he said that doesn't mean that stores that sell synthetic marijuana aren't being looked at. "These types of investigations taking time (months to years) before they come to the arrest phase and quite often they involve multiple agencies (local, state and federal)," he said. "Unfortunately, if we said any more, we risk interfering with ongoing investigations." Hampton similarly declined to discuss the issue, also citing its reluctance to jeopardize potential investigations. The departments did provide the Daily Press with spice-related arrest statistics for the last three years. In Newport News the number of arrests tied to synthetic marijuana dropped off from 32 in 2012, when spice was gaining in popularity, to 20 in 2013. In Hampton the trend was reversed. Police there made 25 synthetic marijuana arrests in 2012 and 38 in 2013. Cline said he suspects municipalities like Newport News and Hampton are learning from those like Gloucester County and will work with federal police to go after spice sellers. But some retailers seem to think the kinks in the state law will protect them anyway, he added. "If anyone called me that was running one of those stores, I'd say shut it down today," he said. "They're basing their decision on what they sell and don't sell on the state statute, not realizing there's always federal jurisdiction - - so they're getting bad advice. The feds will come knocking and when they do, they're ruthless." - ------------------ Spice arrests in NN, Hampton Newport News 2012: 32 2013:20 2014 (year to date): 7 Total: 59 Hampton: 2012: 25 2013: 38 2014 (year to date): 1 Total: 64 - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom