Former Wythe County Sheriff Supervises 52 Counties

NEW U.S. MARSHAL SO TOUGH HE EVEN STOOD UP TO THE DEAD

As Sheriff, Wayne Pike Increased Drug Busts, Modernized His Department And
Took The Grateful Dead To Task In A Public Letter

Wayne Pike's prey over the last 20 years has included Deadheads, drug
traffickers, coyotes, murderers and Willie Nelson.

Now the former Wythe County sheriff will supervise the capturing of
fugitives in 52 counties as opposed to one as U.S. marshal for the Western
District. Pike, 60, started his new job last week at the Poff Federal
Building in Roanoke and is scheduled to be officially sworn in by Chief
U.S. District Judge Samuel Wilson on Friday.

People who have known the Fort Chiswell native over the years describe him
as an ambitious man deeply committed to aggressive law enforcement and his
community. He also distinguished himself as someone who made his views
known - even when they were unpopular - and as a fan of the spotlight.

"The man lived, ate and slept law enforcement," said Danny Gordon, a
longtime operations manager of Wytheville radio station WYVE.

In his 18 1/2 years as sheriff, Pike transformed the department, said
Sheriff Kermit Osborne, who worked under Pike when he began his first term
as sheriff in 1980.

Under Pike's watch, a department that had spent a lot of its time serving
court papers, taking care of the courts and the local jail and transporting
inmates was suddenly busting up more drug rings and policing Interstates 81
and 77, Osborne said. And Pike - a rangy man sometimes clad in camouflage -
was often found in the middle of the fray.

"Wayne Pike is one of those persons who leads by example," said First
Assistant U.S. Attorney Morgan Scott.

Pike ran for sheriff as a Republican in 1979 and was re-elected four times.

In addition to earning a reputation with federal authorities as someone who
was making lots of drug busts on the crossroads of the interstates, Pike
also started programs to fight domestic abuse, check in on elderly people
who lived alone and train his deputies as emergency medical technicians.

"He had a presence everywhere," Gordon said. "I don't think he ever went home."

As sheriff, Pike wasn't shy about letting people know about his law
enforcement successes. "He liked the limelight," said former board of
supervisors member Jack Crosswell. "Most sheriffs do."

Pike also had a talent for drumming up money to expand his law enforcement
efforts, said Crosswell.

People in Wythe County liked their sheriff so much, he said, that they saw
Pike's departure in 1998 to accept a position with the state parole board
at then-Gov. Jim Gilmore's request as a defection.

"If he had stayed here, he could have been sheriff as long as he wanted,"
Gordon said.

Former Wythe County Chief Deputy Sheriff Sam Viars, who worked under both
Pike and Osborne, described Pike as one of the most effective politicians
he's ever met.

"He knows the right people," Viars said. "He's got a good mind. He can meet
you one or two times and never forget your name."

Pike was one of three candidates whose name were submitted for the position
of U.S. marshal last year by Sens. John Warner and George Allen. Roanoke's
acting U.S. marshal Kearn Knowles and Tom Slemp, a deputy U.S. marshal who
works in federal court in Abingdon, were also nominated. President Bush
chose to nominate Pike in April, and the Senate Judiciary Committee
confirmed his nomination last month.

Pike said he is deeply honored to have gotten the job and spoke highly of
the office's staff . Besides the task of tracking down fugitives, Pike will
also supervise the transport of federal inmates, court security officers
who man the courts, and watch over seized assets. He is supervising about
80 people, he said, and will make $121,600. He plans to be more aggressive
about tracking down federal fugitives and hopes to upgrade equipment for
the U.S. Marshals Service.

Pike was considered for the position in the early 1980s, he said, but
decided he hadn't been sheriff long enough.

Pike had returned to Wythe County in the late 1970s to run for sheriff
after working his way up to second in command of the homicide division at
the High Point, N.C., police department. Before that, he served four years
in the Air Force.

Once Pike got elected in 1979, he set about modernizing and expanding the
department. He applied for and received grants to fund his new efforts.

"As a sheriff, I think he very much tried for higher wages and benefits for
the officers," Osborne said. "He really wanted a better department and
strived for that."

But Pike also came under criticism for a program he spearheaded on the
interstate - about 100 miles of which were within his jurisdiction. Under
his tenure, a county ordinance was passed under a state law that allows
municipalities to make their own ordinances and adopt part of the
Department of Motor Vehicles law. After the ordinance was enacted, Pike's
deputies were allowed to work overtime policing the interstates, usually
the domain of state troopers.

"Wayne's philosophy was that we were a mobile society and that criminals
were mobile," Viars said. "We could focus on traffic violations and let
that lead toward other things."

The revenue Pike's deputies brought back from the tickets went to the
department and to trash collection for the county, Pike said.

"People thought he was a little overzealous" with the ticketing program,
said Crosswell. The former board of supervisors member added that he didn't
think tickets should be issued for the purpose of gaining revenue for the
department.

Pike was also not afraid to air his views about people he disagreed with -
even if they were rock stars.

In 1987, he took the Grateful Dead and some of its local fans to task in a
letter to The Roanoke Times & World-News after dozens were arrested at a
Roanoke Civic Center concert. Then in 1988, Pike started a letter-writing
campaign - on department stationery, though he pointed out at the time that
it was not the "Law's" opinion, but his own - urging local radio stations
and citizens to boycott Willie Nelson records.

Nelson had supported American Indian activist Leonard Peltier - who was
sentenced to two life terms for the murders of two FBI agents in South
Dakota - at a concert and Pike, as a defender of law enforcement, took issue.

Roanoke Times columnist Brian O'Neill described Pike during the Nelson flap
as "a politician who just flat-out told it as he saw it. That was refreshing."

"It was kind of a one-man protest," Pike said recently. He added that he
has since made amends with Nelson after meeting him about 10 years ago at a
concert to benefit police.

Pike also wrote an opinion piece to The Roanoke Times after the Rodney King
case broke in Los Angeles, arguing that what happened to King was wrong,
but added that police who are brutalized rarely receive the publicity King did.

In his new post, however, Pike said he "probably wouldn't be attacking
Willie or the Grateful Dead." He said he would keep promoting the good that
law enforcement does, however.

Pike also sparked controversy in Wythe County during the mid-1990s when he
supported the construction of a local prison to bring a "nonpolluting
industry" to an area that needed jobs. Many locals opposed it, and it never
came to pass.

Most county residents were surprised and some were angered when Pike took a
position on the Virginia Parole Board, Crosswell said.

Pike said recently that he had wanted to be sheriff for 20 years and
"thought while I was doing really well, it would be a great thing to do
something different." He commuted to Richmond for the job.

In 1999, Pike drew controversy again when he returned to Wythe County and
ran for sheriff again. Pike's successor, Osborne, had already defeated one
of Pike's sons, Jeff, in the Republican primary for the office. Wayne Pike
then entered the race and was "beaten badly" by his former deputy,
Crosswell said.

"When he came back to town again, some of his critics thought he was trying
to set up a dynasty," Crosswell said.

The campaign was characterized by some as nasty political advertising,
Osborne said, though he declined to elaborate on it. The election also
sparked a federal lawsuit. Two dispatchers at the Wythe County sheriff's
department - one of them Pike's third wife Martha - sued Osborne for
unfairly firing them because they supported Jeff Pike's candidacy. The 4th
Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed the suit on appeal. Both Jeff
Pike and Wayne Pike's other son, Steve, work in law enforcement.

In his spare time, Pike likes to write about conservation and take wildlife
photos. He recently had to shoot some coyotes but only because they were
going after his four Yorkshire terriers. He also pens what he calls
"philosophical" children's fiction, some of which, including a story about
an imaginary creature called "The Little Gonck," have been published.

But fiction aside, the truth about Pike, according to Osborne, is that "he
was very good for Wythe County."