Vance deputy facing drug charge fired

Deputy Anthony William Griffin, 24, who had worked with the Vance County Sheriff's Office since August 2007, was stopped at about 3 a.m. Thursday because a Henderson police officer said he had run a red light on North Cooper Drive at Dabney Drive, authorities said.

The officer found one Oxycontin pill, a painkiller that has become a popular illegal narcotic, inside Griffin's car, authorities said.

Sheriff Peter White fired Griffin after the arrest, saying in a statement that "any behavior that constitutes a violation of the law is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."