Former Draft coach pleads guilty to drug charges

A former Stuarts Draft junior varsity basketball coach pleaded guilty Friday to possession of methamphetamine and marijuana in Buena Vista Circuit Court.

Seth Berry, 25, of Staunton, will spend two years on supervised probation while his case remains under advisement. As a first-time offender, he will not go to prison for the felony meth charge. A judge sentenced him to 10 days in jail for the marijuana charge.

Authorities caught Berry smoking marijuana near his parked car at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista, where a softball tournament was taking place Aug. 23, according to Buena Vista police.

Testimony from officers described the arrest:

The town’s drug task force officer, Sgt. David Henson, observed Berry walking up to the passenger side of a brown Chevrolet Tahoe, which he reached into, pulling out “a marijuana smoking device” that he began to use to smoke.

Henson identified himself and confiscated the device, waiting for marked units to arrive. Berry was not placed under arrest. Henson and two other officers searched the vehicle, finding a Stuarts Draft bag with scales, marijuana, two orange pills and a pill bottle with methamphetamine. Marijuana was also found in Berry’s pocket.

The findings led to Berry’s arrest on three drug charges.

Attorneys submitted written arguments in January about the legality of a police search of Berry’s vehicle. In a statement, Judge Gordon F. Saunders ruled the search legal, citing the “automobile exception.“

That standard, established in 1925, allows searches of vehicles that have “ready mobility,” which could be moved or hidden while officers go through typical protocol in obtaining a search warrant.

“The requirement for mobility of a vehicle has been eroded by subsequent court decisions,“ Saunders continued, citing a 1996 case that states drivers have a “reduced expectation of privacy in an automobile, owing to its pervasive regulation.“

Berry, a Draft coach for three seasons and Rockingham County Baseball League player, was fired from his coaching position when school officials learned of his arrest.