Two Roanoke residents were arrested and approximately 59 grams of heroin worth an estimated $30,000 at the street level was seized Sunday afternoon in an I-81 traffic stop by Botetourt County sheriff’s deputies working in coordination with Virginia State Police, Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle has announced.
Sheriff Sprinkle identified the man and woman arrested as: Chauvin Dwight Bailey, 31, and Sandy Marie Ball, 28. The sheriff said that each was charged with possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, transporting heroin into the Commonwealth with intent to distribute, and child endangerment. The latter charge was based on the presence of a ten-year-old child in the vehicle at the time of the arrests, Sprinkle said.
The arrests followed a traffic stop for speeding in the southbound lanes of I-81 at mile-post 160 at 4:32 p.m. Sunday, and the heroin was located in the vehicle’s spare tire by a State Police drug-seeking dog, Sheriff Sprinkle said. The two persons arrested stated that they were en route from New York City to Roanoke, the sheriff said.
The two were arraigned Monday in General District Court for Botetourt County and remain in custody in the Botetourt County Jail, Sprinkle said.
