New U.S. attorney plans to bring crime prevention programs to Western District

ROANOKE — The newly appointed U.S. attorney for the western half of Virginia said Tuesday he plans to take a greater role in crime prevention than predecessors.

Timothy Heaphy, a former federal prosecutor and most recently a white-collar criminal defense attorney in Charlottesville, was sworn in on Oct. 16. Heaphy now oversees federal prosecutions and civil litigation in the 52-county western district of Virginia.

Prosecution will remain his office’s core business, he said. Priorities include crimes involving national security, methamphetamine and prescription drug abuse, gang-related activity and public corruption, he said.

However, he said, he also wants to introduce new federal crime-fighting programs to the communities in the district, including programs to treat substance abuse and decrease gang recruiting.

“The U.S. attorney has a role in bringing programs from Washington,” he said, adding that he also hopes to bring federal funding with them.

He said he wants to meet with commonwealth’s attorneys to learn how federal and state prosecutors can work together more efficiently.

Heaphy said he does not plan to relocate his family from Charlottesville to Roanoke, which is the central office for the district. He said he will be in the Roanoke office two or three days per week. Other district offices are located in Abingdon, Charlottes-ville and Harrisonburg.

A formal public ceremony installing him in the position is scheduled for Dec. 4 in Charlottesville, he said. Attorney General Eric Holder, for whom he previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, plans to attend, he said.