Man dies in Williamsburg city hall parking lot on Tuesday

A Mt. Vernon man, who was on his way home after a visit to a pain clinic in Florida, died in the parking lot at Williamsburg City Hall Tuesday morning.

Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley pronounced Timmy York, 44, of Mt. Vernon, dead at 11:30 a.m.
Croley has sent the body to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort for an autopsy, and said he won’t be able to determine a preliminary cause of death until after toxicology results have been returned.

Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird said that based upon everything he observed; the death was "consistent with an overdose."

York had gotten prescriptions for 15 and 30 mg Roxycet pills and Xanax from the pain clinic, and there were several of those narcotics "missing from his prescribed bottle," Bird noted.

McNew left Mt. Vernon Monday with two female acquaintances, Tammy McNew and Gina Sigmon, in a rented 2006 white Mercury Marquis and headed to Boca Rotone, Florida, where each visited a pain clinic, Bird said.

On the way back Tuesday morning, Bird said the two women noticed York was not breathing when they were just south of the state line.

He said there was apparently some problem with their Tom Tom navigational system that told them to go to Exit 11 in Williamsburg. The women ended up stopping at Williamsburg City Hall about 11:15 a.m. after noticing a police car there, and sought help.

"By the time we got to the victim, he was too far gone to be revived," Bird said.

Police are handling the case as a death investigation, and don’t anticipate filing any charges in connection with the investigation.

"There is nothing at this point that indicates any foul play," Bird said. "Maybe some bad judgment, but not foul play."

The Drug Enforcement Agency was notified, and did send agents to Williamsburg to interview the two women, Bird said.
He said the DEA was likely gathering intelligence for on-going investigations into pain clinics.

Apparently there are numerous pain clinics in Boca Rotone.

"There’s like one on every city block. They are all over the place down there," Bird noted.

While Williamsburg police have encountered several people on their way back to Kentucky from visits to pain clinics in Florida, Bird said that this is the first death the department has investigated in connection with such a visit.

"It is an unfortunate death," he said.

Neither McNew nor Sigmon appeared to be under the influence or not enough to question their sobriety, Bird said.
Williamsburg Police Detective Bobby Freeman is heading the investigation.