Pubdate: Fri, 24  Sept 1999
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 1999 Roanoke Times
Contact:  201 W. Campbell Ave., Roanoke, Va. 24010
Website: http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/index.html
Author: Michael Hemphill

5 INDICTED ON DRUG CONSPIRACY CHARGES
Case Stems From 'Phototron' Pot Investigation 

- ---Jay Smith, Already Convicted In The Conspiracy, Has Started Working
With Authorities. But His Cooperation Is Being Viewed With Suspicion.

A federal grand jury indicted five people Thursday on charges they ran
an indoor marijuana-growing operation for nine years that netted them
$10 million from sales in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

The six-count indictment in U.S. District Court stems from a
high-profile 1997 bust of three Roanoke County homes, where
authorities found more than 2,300 marijuana plants being cultivated
with high-power grow lights. Accused of drug conspiracy are three
cousins, Russell R. "Sam" Coles, 39, of Danville, and Martin D. Coles,
38, and Frank C. Carroll of Roanoke. Also charged are Wallace L.
"Chip" Mayhew, 41, and Sybil B. Alderman, 25, also of Roanoke.

The case arose out of an earlier marijuana investigation of Joseph
"Jay" Smith III of Roanoke County, who joined forces with amateur
horticulturist Victor Layman to create a larger, more potent breed of
pot known on the streets as "Phototron." Both men were sentenced in
1996 to 57 months in prison.

A year later, Roanoke County police caught Mayhew, who is married to
the sister of Smith's wife, at a grow house on Castle Rock Road. Court
records indicate Mayhew immediately began cooperating with police and
fingered Smith as the force behind the operation.

Affidavits filed by Drug Enforcement Administration agents suggest
that before his imprisonment, Smith profited from a "broker's fee" off
each pound of Phototron marijuana the other defendants grew. When he
went to prison, the DEA alleges, Smith raised his fee from $400 per
pound to $600 and turned his distribution network over to his
stepbrother, Sam Coles.

Coles was indicted in the Phototron investigation, but was allowed to
plead to a misdemeanor possession charge after prosecutors were unable
to link him to the conspiracy.

At the time of the raid, Smith argued Mayhew had set him up as the
scapegoat. But in April, he again was charged with marijuana
conspiracy. Facing life in prison, Smith entered into a plea agreement
in July in which he would get leniency at sentencing in exchange for
helping the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Now, Smith's cooperation is being viewed with suspicion.

"Of course Jay Smith is doing some big time," said David Damico,
Martin Coles' attorney. "It sort of strikes me as a typical government
approach to strike deals with somebody big" to get the smaller
players. "The incentive for somebody in that position is to say what
the government wants to hear or to make something up."

Damico also discredits the government's theory that the drug ring ran
from 1990 until Thursday's indictment. All the defendants have had
attorneys since the 1997 bust.

"I've very confident my client has not been involved in it since I've
been involved in the case," Damico said, adding that Coles is going to
vigorously defend all charges.

Jane Harden, Mayhew's attorney, declined to discuss the case because
she hadn't seen the indictment. None of the other attorneys could be
reached for comment.

In addition to drug conspiracy, Sam Coles was charged with money
laundering conspiracy and two related marijuana charges. Martin Coles
also was charged with three counts, and Carroll and Alderman of one
count each, of aiding in the manufacture of marijuana.

All face up to life in prison if convicted.

- ---
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