EX-SHERIFF'S DEPUTY CONVICTED OF DRUG POSSESSION, GUN CHARGE

PORTSMOUTH -- A former Roanoke County sheriff's deputy was convicted
Wednesday of possessing cocaine and of having a gun with drugs. Damany
King of Roanoke faces at least five years in prison because the
weapons violation carries a mandatory sentence.

King, 32, was arrested in July when he was in Hampton Roads to visit
friends, said Ed Ferreira, an assistant commonwealth's attorney.

A Portsmouth police officer approached King's parked car when he saw a
woman standing at the passenger side window, court records show. The
woman ran away, but King consented to a search of his car, according
to court records.

Police found 0.014 ounces of cocaine on the floor near the passenger
side and his department-issued gun in the trunk, according to court
records. King told police he didn't know the drugs were there.

At the time, King told the officer he recently had been hired by the
Roanoke County Sheriff's Office, court records show.

King was fired when he didn't show up for work after his arrest and
officials in Roanoke County found out he'd been arrested.

King is free on bond until his sentencing, which is scheduled for
March. It is the second time in Portsmouth this year that a sheriff's
deputy has been convicted of having a gun with drugs.

Sean Kirshon, a former Chesapeake and Norfolk deputy, was convicted in
August of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, having a
firearm while in possession of drugs and possessing marijuana.