Hugh O'Connor

Hugh Edward Ralph O'Connor (born April 7, 1962 in Rome; died March 28, 1995 in Pacific Palisades, California) was an American actor, known for his role as Det./ Lt. Lonnie Jamison on In the Heat of the Night from 1988-1995.

Legal Issues

Six months before Hugh's death Angela told Carroll O'Connor that a man named Harry Perzigian had been furnishing the younger O'Connor with drugs. Carroll had retained a private detective to investigate. About a week before Hugh's death his father brought the evidence to the Los Angeles Police asking them to arrest Perzigian. Several hours after Hugh's death, his father publicly named Perzigian as the man who caused his son's death. Harry Perzigian was arrested the next day for drug possession and furnishing cocaine, after a search of his apartment turned up cocaine and drug paraphenalia. In January of 1996 he was sentenced to a year in jail, a $1000.00 fine, 200 hours' community service and three years' probation.

Related Topics:
Harry Perzigian - Los Angeles - Cocaine - Drug paraphenalia - January - 1996 - Community service - Probation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Perzigian later sued Carroll O'Connor for slander for calling him a "sleazeball" and saying "he was a partner in murder, not an accessory, a partner in murder" in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's Primetime Live. After a highly publicized civil trial Carroll O'Connor was acquitted. He dedicated much of the rest of his life to speaking out on drug awareness.

Related Topics:
Slander - Diane Sawyer - ABC - Civil trial

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~