Outside the Courthouse and the Sheriff’s Office in downtown Roanoke today, a memorial was unveiled in the parking lot for Deputy Corporal Barry Lee Pendrey, who was killed inside the Roanoke City jail 39 years ago by an inmate. Members of Pendrey’s family and former retired Sheriff’s office employees he worked with were on hand for the plaque unveiling; Barry Lee Pendrey was 29 years old when he died in the line of duty in February 1985.

A $20,000 grant from the Virginia Law Enforcement Memorial Fund paid for the plaque and small plaza in the courthouse parking lot. Roanoke City Sheriff Antonio Hash presided over the ceremony: