Schneider v. Commonwealth

In a bench trial, Edward Gilbert Schneider was found guilty of distribution of marijuana in violation of Code § 18.2-248.1(a)(3) and sentenced to eight years in the penitentiary, with three years suspended. The sole question in this appeal is whether the trial court erred in rejecting Schneider’s defense of entrapment.

Schneider and Gary Harrison, acquaintances and fellow seamen in the United States Navy, were stationed aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz. Harrison was also a police informant, posing as the brother of an armed and dangerous “heavy duty drug dealer.” In reality, the “drug…