The scion of a 92-year-old family business is being held without bond on weapons and drug charges after Richmond police raided his home in an afternoon drug bust north of Cary Street Road.
Brandon R. Tanner Sr., 50, chief executive of a group of family-owned moving and transfer companies, faces a preliminary hearing June 3, according to court records.
He is charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of heroin and possession of drugs while possessing a firearm. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of maintaining a common nuisance, his home.
Authorities conducted a drug raid April 3 and arrested four other people at the home at 1 Clarke Road in the well-established Elderslie community north of Windsor Farms. The home is about a half-mile west of Mary Munford Elementary School
Authorities found cocaine, heroin, a semiautomatic handgun and what appeared to be an automatic rifle, said Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring.
"It is either a crack house in a well-to-do neighborhood, or it is a 'cut house' in a well-to-do neighborhood," Herring said, referring to a house where drugs are cut and prepared for distribution.
The house was outfitted with two poles apparently for exotic dancers, according to another law-enforcement official.
The four other suspects were each charged with felony drug possession. Authorities identified them as Terri Neeley, 40; Ashley Nichole Blacknell, 24; Nicole Brokaw, 24; and Louis D. Myers Jr., 36. All face preliminary hearings May 27.
Police went to the house on April 3 at 4:42 p.m. looking for Myers for questioning in a robbery case. Tanner allowed police inside and told them Myers was also there, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed in Richmond Circuit Court.
After Tanner went looking for Myers, police saw a glass smoking device and also found pipes and a scale containing white powder, the police affidavit says. Several people ran from the house but were detained by police. Authorities later served a search warrant and said they seized drugs and several other items.
"It was in a decidedly residential neighborhood; that is troubling," Herring said. "This kind of thing is in cities, and it pops up in even the most unlikely places. But it's there."
Robert J. Rice, Tanner's lawyer, did not return a call asking for comment.
Residents yesterday said they had been alarmed for months about people going and coming at the home late at night and were struck by Tanner's long-haired appearance. "At first, we thought he was a VCU professor, someone different from the lawyers and doctors who live here," said one resident.
Tanner is president of Tanner Van Lines Inc. and controls warehouses in Mechanicsville, Varina and Petersburg, according to records that are part of divorce proceedings in Hanover County.
In a 2001 Richmond Times-Dispatch article on him and his now-estranged wife, Marie, Tanner spoke of continuing a family moving and storage business begun by his grandfather in 1917.
His business had closed in 1982 during an economic slump; he said he began anew in 1986.
"We put trust in God, luck and somebody's truck," he was quoted as saying.
The company's current status was not clear; a company official did not respond to a call asking for comment.
Tanner's wife also declined comment. The couple separated in September 2005, when Tanner left a note posted to the couple's garage door in the 9200 block of Wyattwood Road in Mechanicsville, according to court documents.
The couple reached a property-distribution settlement last month, but a divorce has not been finalized.
Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or bmckelway@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or rwilliams@timesdispatch.com.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement