Ex-Norfolk cop admits selling steroids, syringes, pot

By Kristin Davis
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 24, 2011

VIRGINIA BEACH
A former Norfolk police officer admitted in Circuit Court on Wednesday to selling steroids, syringes and marijuana to an undercover Virginia Beach investigator outside One Life Fitness on Princess Anne Road earlier this year.


Kristin Wayne Harris, 37, pleaded guilty to drug possession and the sale of an anabolic steroid.

Harris, who had worked for the Norfolk Police Department for 11 years, resigned a day after his arrest. He was charged with 11 drug-related felonies and two misdemeanors, but prosecutors withdrew all but two felony drug charges.


Harris faces a minimum of six months in jail when he is sentenced Feb. 29. The two convictions carry a maximum of 20 years behind bars.


According to a stipulation of prosecutors’ evidence in the case, Harris sold syringes, steroids and an ounce of marijuana to the undercover officer between April 28 and June 9.


He was arrested following the June 9 sale, the court document states, and confessed to police.


Harris’ attorney, Peter G. Decker III, said his client accepted responsibility for the crimes and regrets them.


“For 17 years, he was a public servant with an unblemished record, and then he made a mistake,” Decker said after Wednesday’s court hearing.


Harris worked in law enforcement in other jurisdictions before joining the Norfolk department in 2000, Decker said.