Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
New information has come out this week in the arrest of a Virginia Tech football player on drug charges. In search warrants filed in the Montgomery County Circuit Clerk office, the investigation started last month and led to the arrest of 19-year old Tavante Dashae Beckett, who is originally from Indian River High School in the Tidewater area.
On Aug. 23, police found over 20 marijuana cigarettes in a trashcan that was labeled for his Blacksburg town home. The search took place as part of an ongoing drug investigation.
After a search warrant was issued Sept. 11, police found a digital scale, a green substance mixed with tobacco and a 9mm pistol at his residence. He was officially charged after that search with conspiracy to sell and distribute marijuana and faces an additional charge of possession of marijuana. Jimmy Turk is listed as his attorney of record.
The conspiracy to distribute is a felony with more than an ounce but less than five pounds of the illegal substance being found during the search. Several other individuals live at the residence but have not been charged in connection to the case.
Because of the felony charge, Beckett received an automatic suspension from the Virginia Tech football team. His status as a student at the school is also up in the air.
Coming out of high school, he was a highly touted linebacker from Chesapeake that was rated as one of the top players in the Commonwealth.
In a statement released by the university on Monday, Beckett was listed as being suspended indefinitely with no reason for the penalty.
The 5-11, 211-pound sophomore was second on the depth chart at the middle linebacker position and had played in Virginia Tech’s first two games this season.
He was named to the 2015 American Family Insurance ALL-USA State Football Team and was a Virginia all-state selection.
A conviction could be up to a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine. Beckett was released on a $2,500 unsecured bond after his arrest.
