DEPUTY CHARGED WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE COCAINE

Roanoke Sheriff's Deputy Tierre Allen McGinnis was supplying inmates with
cocaine, a police investigation alleges.

By Lindsey Nair 981-3334 The Roanoke Times

A former Roanoke Sheriff's deputy was indicted on two felony charges Monday
after a two-month investigation alleges that he sneaked cocaine into the jail.

Tierre Allen McGinnis, 25, is charged with possession of cocaine with the
intent to distribute and possession of a firearm while in the possession of
cocaine. The second charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five
years in prison.

Roanoke Sheriff George McMillan said the investigation began about the
first of September after three separate tips came in to authorities that a
deputy was delivering drugs to inmates. One came from an inmate at the
jail, one went to the Roanoke police and one to the Drug Enforcement
Agency, he said.

Roanoke Sheriff's Maj. Jim Brubaker and Lt. Kim Haddox began investigating
the tips, along with the DEA and Roanoke Police. McMillan said informants
soon told investigators that McGinnis would be bringing more drugs into the
jail Oct. 6 or Oct. 7.

The sheriff said police tailed McGinnis on Oct. 6 and witnessed some
strange behavior. When he reported to work at 6:30 a.m. Oct. 7, he went
straight to the lineup, unaware that a Roanoke police dog was sniffing his car.

The dog made a hit for drugs on the car, and believing McGinnis had
transported drugs to work in the vehicle, McMillan confronted him. The
sheriff said the deputy opened his lunchbox to reveal a large quantity of
cocaine. The exact amount was not available.

McGinnis was fired that day. McMillan said he told deputies at the jail
what had happened but asked them not to talk about the incident until
investigators completed their work.

Four days later, a man who is believed to have supplied McGinnis with the
drugs was arrested in North Carolina, McMillan said. Michael Ray Cox is
being held without bond in the Roanoke City Jail on five counts of
manufacturing, selling or possessing a controlled substance.

Because McGinnis was in full uniform and wore his service weapon on his
belt when he was discovered with drugs, he was charged with the Class 6
felony of possessing drugs and a gun at the same time.

No inmates were charged in connection with the incident because the drugs
were confiscated before they could be distributed, but McMillan and Sheri
Jones, assistant commonwealth's attorney for Roanoke, said they believe the
drugs would have been distributed.

Jones said the Roanoke Sheriff's Office, DEA and Roanoke Police
communicated well throughout the investigation. She said the last time a
Roanoke deputy was charged with delivering drugs to the jail was in the
early 1980s.

McGinnis, a deputy since 2000, turned himself over to the Roanoke City Jail
about 4:30 p.m. Monday. McMillan said he would be processed there, then
transferred to the Roanoke County/Salem Jail.

The sheriff said McGinnis will not be housed in Roanoke for several reasons.

"He's very familiar with the jail, its routines, its strengths and
weaknesses," McMillan said. "And we don't want to give anyone cause or
belief that we would mistreat him."

The sheriff said McGinnis was trusted and well-liked by his fellow
deputies. He is married with a young daughter and often volunteered to take
part in community events such as a Big Brothers/Big Sisters putt-putt
tournament.

McGinnis went through the same extensive background check that all deputies
must go through, and he "had a great background," the sheriff said. He said
other deputies are upset and disappointed by the news.

"What disturbs me is the fact that I have 253 employees here," he said,
"and one of them will hurt the reputation that all of them have worked hard
to get."