Deputy Charged With Attempted Manslaughter

LARGO, FL — The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of one of its own.

Deputy Timothy Virden was fired from the agency and arrested Friday on one count of attempted manslaughter, the sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media. The charge stems from a Dec. 30 incident in Madeira Beach during which Virden shot Dylan Tompkins-Holmes of Gulfport.

Tompkins-Holmes, 26, was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over at John’s Pass. At the time, Tompkins-Holmes was accused of trying to take Virden’s gun, prompting a struggle that ended when Virden fired two shots.

Tompkins-Holmes suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

An internal investigation into the shooting revealed that Virden was not justified in firing his weapon, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced in a Friday media conference. Virden’s version of events was not supported by the facts in the case, the sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media. “His decision to use deadly force is outside the parameters permitted by applicable law and policy,” the email noted.

“I have an obligation to our deputies, but I have a larger obligation to the citizens we serve, the Office of Sheriff and its integrity, the law enforcement profession as a whole and, of utmost importance, upholding the public’s trust placed in us in performing our duties,” Gualtieri said.

Booking photo of Deputy Timothy Virden courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office