A Toano man who was found guilty of felony possession of marijuana with intent to sell will not have to serve any of his five-year sentence.
Rashad Fitz Byrd, 28, received the five-year sentence at a hearing in Williamsburg-James City Circuit Court on Wednesday. Judge Michael McGinty suspended all five years; Byrd will be on supervised probation for seven years.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 and will have his driver’s license suspended for six months.
Byrd was arrested after investigators from the Tri-Rivers Drug Task Force – a group of officers from several area law enforcement departments – staked out his home on Old Stage Road in Toano and observed him selling marijuana over the course of a month in the spring of last year.
Investigators obtained a warrant to search Byrd’s home, where they seized 1.5 pounds of marijuana from a hiding place in the home’s attic and $14,800 in cash from a safe under a bed.
Byrd admitted to police the drugs were his and he had sold marijuana in the past, and was charged with possession with intent to distribute more than ¼ oz. but less than 5 pounds of the drug. He was found guilty of the charges last November.
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