Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Contact:  http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/index.html
Pubdate: Fri, 19 Jun 1998
Author:  Matt Chittum

First arrested of 4 ex-Lord Botetourt football players turned on his buddies

FAKE 'ECSTASY' CASE BRINGS GUILTY PLEAS

In April, lab reports indicated that the pills that Richard Gluth Jr. had
sold to the police informant were actually Robitussin DM cough medicine,
Branscom said.

FINCASTLE -- The former Lord Botetourt High School football players charged
with dealing what they believed to be a drug called Ecstasy were brought
down by one of their own.

Three members of the group pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday.

The "Ecstasy" they were dealing turned out to be cough medicine, a fact
apparently unknown to them.

"They were like the Keystone Kops of drug dealing," Botetourt County
Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom said.

An anonymous tip led Botetourt sheriff's deputies to Richard "Ricky" Gluth
Jr., Branscom explained during Gluth's trial Thursday in Circuit Court. In
early February, the investigators sent a woman with $150 into Gluth's
Daleville apartment to buy some Ecstasy pills from him.

That became the basis for a search warrant that led to Gluth's arrest,
Branscom said.

In April, lab reports indicated that the pills were actually Robitussin DM,
Branscom said. Ecstasy, also known as methylenedioxymethamphetamine or
MDMA, is a drug that heightens the user's sensory perceptions. Branscom
added that the two substances shared enough properties for the cough
medicine to field test as Ecstasy.

Gluth, 22, immediately agreed to try to help his own cause by becoming a
police informant, Branscom said. He set up a deal during which he would
wear a recording device while buying more of the Ecstasy from his former
Lord Botetourt teammate, Nathan Beasely.

Beasely came to Gluth's apartment and made the sale, Branscom said, and
while he was there, he made a phone call to another old teammate, Robert
"Erik" Erickson, to set up another sale of the drug.

Investigators heard the conversation and staked out the Virginian Markette,
where the deal was to take place, Branscom said.

Beasely inadvertently set up himself and the others to be caught, Branscom said.

The investigators watched Beasely climb into another car and head north on
U.S. 11. When they pulled the car over, Branscom said, they found Erickson
at the wheel, a James Madison University graduate named Kai Anthony Safran
in the passenger's seat and Beasely in the back.

Safran claimed he had just come along for the ride, but Beasely told the
police that he had sold 30 of the pills to Erickson, who was in turn
selling them to Safran, Branscom said. Beasely said the pills were under
the front seat, but the investigators never found them.

No one admitted to swallowing them or throwing them out the window,
Branscom said.

Erickson pleaded guilty two weeks ago. Gluth pleaded guilty Thursday to
attempted possession of an imitation controlled substance. Safran pleaded
guilty to attempted possession of Ecstasy.

Another former Lord Botetourt football player, Seth Myers, who allegedly
sold cocaine to Gluth in a separate sting, pleaded guilty Thursday to
possession of cocaine.

All of the men have voluntarily reported to jail with the hope of
persuading Branscom and the judge to agree to take their charges under
advisement.

As first-time drug felons, they may qualify under Virginia law to keep
their records clean as long as they stay in drug treatment for a period of
time. Gluth is already in a treatment program.

Branscom said he won't object if they qualify. He said he just wants them
to get a taste of jail first.

Beasely and another Roanoke man caught in the sting and charged with
possession of cocaine are scheduled to be tried next week.

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Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)