Former Draft coach faces drug charges

By: By Jimmy LaRoue and Corine Gatti | News Virginian
Published: August 29, 2008

A former Stuarts Draft junior varsity basketball coach was arrested on drug charges after lighting a bowl of marijuana and smoking it in front of an off-duty drug task force officer, police said Thursday.
Seth Berry, 25, of Staunton, was caught smoking marijuana in his parked car at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista, where a softball tournament was taking place Aug. 23, Buena Vista police Chief A.J. Panebianco said.
The town’s drug task force officer, Sgt. David Henson, was participating in the Chris Wheeler Memorial Softball Tournament when he observed Berry walking up to the passenger side of a brown Chevy Tahoe, Panebianco said.
Berry reached into the Tahoe and pulled out “a marijuana smoking device” and began smoking from it, Panebianco said.
Henson approached the car, identified himself and confiscated the bowl, waiting for marked units to arrive before making the arrest, Panebianco said.
Police said authorities then conducted a search of Berry’s vehicle, leading to a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession and felony charges of marijuana possession with intent to distribute, methamphetamine possession and possession of Adderall, a schedule I drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Berry complained that the charges could cost him his job, a police news release said. Henson replied that they should, the release said.
Augusta County Superintendent Dr. Gary McQuain said Berry had been fired from his position as a JV coach at Stuarts Draft. Berry was a Draft coach for the past three seasons.
“He notified the school and let them know that he had been caught,” McQuain said. “We immediately said that he will not be part of the Stuarts Draft coaching family from this point forward.”
Stuarts Draft Athletic Director Steve Hartley said Berry underwent a drug test and background check before being hired.
“He will not be back here to coach,” Hartley said.
Berry also played baseball for the Rockingham County Baseball League's Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks. Word of his arrest upset Diamondbacks coach Tinker Kiser. The coach said he hopes something good can come from Berry being caught.
“He is like a son to me,” Kiser said. “I have coached him since he was 16 years old from [American] Legion ball. He can still do something with his life.”
Berry was held on a $10,000 secured bond and transported to the Rockbridge Regional Jail. He later posted bond and was released.